Ancient Encounter
by AileenRoseven
Summary: The adventures of Wilson and friends continues as they go about surviving in Their World. However this time, fate has lead them to the caves of the world. A place known for being mysterious and very dangerous in nature. Yet beneath it all lies a secret that has long since been forgotten by the sands of time.
1. Drop In

It had been debatable if venturing into the caves below would ever be a good idea. There was a lot to be found in them that proved to be useful for the Survivors' cause. However, they were very dangerous. It's, for the most part, constantly dark, they had to have a torch always lit or Charlie would get them and the monsters in the caves were just as bad if not worse than the ones they had to deal with constantly on the surface.

They had only been down there maybe once or twice and were quick to leave be it they were being chased by monsters or they were running out of light and didn't want to have any close encounters with Charlie. It just never seemed like a good idea to even bother with the place.

However, life is strange and unexpected. Especially in Their World.

Wilson groaned, opening his eyes slowly. His head was throbbing and his body was refusing to move even an inch.

 _Ngh… What hit me?_

He looked around at his surroundings, trying to piece together what had happened.

 _I remember I was out scouting for food with Maxwell, Winona and Willow and then…_

His eyes widened at the sight before him. There was a rocky ceiling above him and around him were pieces of broken turf and huge boulders.

" _W-What's that rumbling!?"_

" _EVERYONE MAKE A RUN FOR IT! THE GROUND'S GIVING OUT!"_

 _CRASH!_

 _That's right…_

Wilson finally got himself to move, sitting up slowly, holding his head with one of his hands.

 _Surprise sinkhole._

He scanned the area, trying to see if he could spot any of his companions. He sighed in relief, seeing each of them somewhere nearby. They were still knocked out but he could see their chests moving up and down, a sign they were still alive.

It took Wilson a few tries before he could get up on his feet, quickly making his way over to Willow, giving her a gentle shake.

"Willow? Willow, wake up."

The young woman groaned, her eyes opening a bit.

"Mgh… Wilson?"

"Right here." He brought her upper body in his arms. "Are you alright?"

"Sore as I'll get out but hey, I'm not dead at least." She huddled a little closer to him. "Cold though."

"It does seem to be cooler where we are." Wilson rubbed her shoulders, trying to warm her up a little.

"Where are we? And what happened?"

"I believe we fell down a sinkhole and from the looks of it, we're in the caves."

"Joy." Willow groaned a bit. "And here I thought I would never have to deal with this stupid place ever again after the last time we ventured down here."

"Could be worse." Wilson looked around. "I mean I can't think of anything at the moment but I'm sure if I could think of something it would be worse."

"Whatever you say, Wildork." Willow chuckled a little, getting to her feet with some help from Wilson. "Well… no use whining. We better start trying to find a way out."

"Agreed."

Willow hurried over to where Winona was, rousing the woman awake while Wilson did the same for Maxwell.

"Charlie just loves toying with us." Maxwell grumbled as Wilson helped him to his feet. "It's a wonder she hasn't killed us yet."

"Heaven knows why." Wilson shrugged. "Let's just be glad we are alive."

"I suppose." Maxwell glanced over to where Winona and Willow were, seeing Winona was fixing him a small glare. "What's with that look?"

"This is your fault somehow, Max."

"You say that about EVERYTHING bad that happens."

"'Cause it's true!"

"Stop!" Wilson snapped. "Now is really not the time for a bickering session between you two. Right now we need to focus on getting out of here." Wilson looked up. "And getting some materials together so we don't get caught in the dark. Judging from the light we have coming from above it won't be long before we lose sunlight."

"And my lighter isn't going to be enough for all four of us." Willow said.

"I'm sure we can scrap somethin' together-" Winona stopped short as she noticed something. "Em… I don't remember us carrying a fancy treasure chest."

"Eh?"

Wilson followed her gaze, eyes going wide as he saw in the middle of the wreckage was a very decorated treasure chest that was blue in color and had a gold trim and on top of it was a rose.

"None of us were but I can take a guess where it came from." Wilson walked over to the treasure chest, taking the rose off it. He looked at the chest, hesitating before undoing the lock, opening to see what was inside.

He relaxed, seeing it wasn't boobie trapped but was puzzled by what was inside. It was a set of clothes that were an orangish red and tan in color, with cloaks that were a pale green along with accessories that were made of some kind of material that looked like gold and had a squarish swirl pattern to them. He also noted four black items that looked like torches, lying on top of the outfits that had a note attached to them.

He took off the note, reading it aloud.

"Sorry for the sudden drop but I had a feeling you wouldn't go back to the caves willing so I found this much more suitable. I kept your bodies intact so you can thank me for that. I found a part of the caves that I thought would be most interesting to you survivors, especially you, Wilson. I've marked out a map that will lead you to what I found. I figured since it will probably take you a bit I've provided you some attire and torches that will help with your journey. The clothes will keep you nice and warm and the torches will stay lit till you snuff them out. Use them wisely and don't lose them, it took me quite awhile to make them. Luck be with you. - Queen Charlie."

"Of course it was HER doing." Maxwell shook his head. "Why am I not surprised?"

"You were with us, we were prime targets." Winona glared at him. "Thanks, Max."

"Hey!"

"What did I just say about bickering?" Wilson narrowed his eyes. "Look, this isn't the best situation but least we have materials to help get out of here."

"I guess." Winona huffed, crossing her arms.

Willow made her way over to the treasure chest, taking out one of the torches. She flicked her lighter on, lighting the torch. Her eyes widened at the size of the flame the torch produced.

"This is better than any torch we've ever made." She brought the torch closer, a big smile crossing her face. "I love it."

Maxwell shook his head, deciding to have a look at the contents of the chest as well. He glanced at the attire… a somewhat uncomfortable expression crossing his features as he took one of the accessories out of the chest, looking at it carefully.

Wilson raised an eyebrow at this.

"What? Not dapper enough for you?"

Maxwell shook his head.

"It's ancient but I'm not going to turn down a way of keeping warm." Maxwell took out one of the outfits, looking at it carefully to be sure it was his size. "Besides, I can wear my best attire under it."

"Sure." Wilson gave a flat look before taking out one of the outfits, seeing it was in his size. "Well… I'd rather not freeze."

"Neither do I." Willow took out the remaining outfits. "Hm… Winona, you can have the last one with pants. I'll take the one with a skirt."

"Thank you kindly." Winona took the outfit, looking at it carefully. "Eh… not my style but if it'll keep me warm I guess I got no right to complain."

Everyone nodded in agreement, quickly slipping on the outfits. They were warm as promised but only one thing was confusing. The accessories. Wilson looked at the accessory in his hands, puzzled at what it was supposed to be.

"What… is this supposed to be? A necklace?"

"It's a headband, Scientist." Maxwell said, tying one on his head. "Like this."

Wilson tilted his head.

"And they serve… what purpose?"

"Sanity preservation. Wearing one will help keep your head clear."

Wilson blinked.

"And how do you know this?"

"You ask you too many questions sometimes."

"And you're terrible at giving answers." Winona quipped.

Maxwell gave her an irritated look. "And you're terrible at reading a compass."

 _Ugh… It never ends._

Wilson shook his head, putting on the headband, feeling the effects starting to take hold

 _Huh… my head does feel clearer with this on._

"Okay, everyone set?" Wilson asked, digging into the treasure chest, pulling out the map.

"We're ready, Will." Willow replied, giving him a smirk. "Let's get a move on."

"Don't have much of a choice." Maxwell rolled his eyes.

"Whine, whine. Do you do anything else, Max?" Winona gave him a light smack on the back.

"Ow! Watch it you wench!"

Wilson groaned.

"Do I have to take your tape Winona?"

"No Sir."

"Please, by all means." Maxwell growled rubbing his shoulder. "Watch it you."

"You watch it."

Wilson sighed. Just the typical story it seemed with those two.

He looked ahead, seeing the road and the darkness that awaited them.

 _This is going to be a LONG expedition._


	2. Encounter

The group did what they could to keep out of trouble as they made their way through the caves but sadly… trouble had a way of finding them. As per usual.

"I can take 'em!" Winona shouted as Wilson dragged her away from a mob of spiders. "Let me at 'em!"

"Now is REALLY not the time to show off, Winona!" Wilson said, his eyes darting back and forth between the mob behind them to the path in front of them. "Just one time, one time, I wish we could have a quiet traveling trip!"

"That's in an ideal world, Higgsbury!" Maxwell said, doing what he could to keep up but was clearly getting short of breath. "Sadly, we're not in the that ideal world!"

"Ugh! Let me!" Willow said, turning around, setting part of the path behind them on fire before joining the others, cutting the spiders off.

"Oh yes because setting the only way back we have on fire is such a great idea!" Maxwell snapped.

"I don't see you coming up with any bright ideas!"

"Not locking us in with smoke is one!"

Wilson looked around, seeing the path ahead was diverging. He looked at both paths, noting one was lighter than the other and was made of stone instead of grass.

"There! Go left! I see light and the fire won't be able to follow us!"

Everyone did as told, taking the path. The path was long and winding before they came upon a plateau that had a small grassy knoll with some trees. They looked behind them, making sure the spiders hadn't followed them and the fire was far away before slowing down and relaxing.

Wilson sighed in relief as he sat down in the knoll, letting go of Winona's wrist.

"Phew… All in one piece."

Maxwell flopped on the ground, coughing a bit.

"Barely."

"Maxwell-"

"Winona, SOME of us would like to breathe normally before engaging in another match of wits."

Winona huffed, crossing her arms.

"This is what you get for being lazy."

"Would you two stop!?" Wilson snapped. "We just escaped death and I need to hear myself think so would you two kindly shut up!?"

Both went quiet, stunned at the scientist raising his voice. He glared at them for another moment before pulling out the map, looking it over carefully.

Willow sat down beside him, looking over his shoulder.

"So, how far are we off course?"

Wilson was silent for another moment before answering.

"... Actually, we're right on track." He looked to his right, seeing a path. "The knoll we're in is on this map and the path we're supposed to follow if we want to see the thing Charlie wanted us to see is that one right there."

"You sure we should see whatever this thing is?" Winona raised an eyebrow, looking at the path in question. "I mean, what if there's some kind of trap? This is Charlie we're talking about."

All were silent, looking at each other.

"Well… Hm…" Wilson hummed in thought. "... I don't know. Maybe just this once?"

"Just this once?" Maxwell's left eye twitched. "Every single time you say that something terrible happens!"

"Like you're any better!" Wilson snapped. "Lest I remind you of the last time we let you be in charge."

"You mean that time we got into a scuffle with that monster-"

"Okay okay don't need to remind me!" Maxwell rolled his eyes. "I do think it would be wise to exercise caution. We don't know what Charlie has waiting for us."

"For once, I agree." Winona got up. "Well, Wilson, lead the way."

Wilson nodded, getting up, heading down the path, the others following behind him.

"So, wanna take bets, Willow?" Winona asked, folding her arms behind her head. "What do you think awaits us? I think a giant monster. I bet my tape."

"I bet my share of tonight's meal it'll be a tentacle." She whispered, pointing to Maxwell." I think it'll grab Maxwell and thrash him about."

"Ooo nice prediction."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that." Maxwell glared at them before looking to Wilson. "Please tell me we're close."

"Right in front of us."

All looked ahead, eyes widening at the sight of a cave entrance that had torches similar to theirs pinned to the sides of it. They noted the floor leading up to it too. There was tiling that had a design to it that looked like veins that had a faint red glow emanating from them.

"Those veins…" Maxwell whispered.

"Recognize it?" Wilson asked him.

Maxwell was silent, nodding slowly.

"I haven't seen them in a while but… I didn't think anything survived."

 _Nothing should've been left._

Wilson raised an eyebrow. "Really now?"

"I… It's none of your business."

"Well, come on, let's see what's inside." Willow rushed ahead.

"A-Ah Willow!" Wilson chased after her. "We can't just go rushing in-" He stopped short at what was inside.

The walls of the caves had markings… no, murals covering them from top to bottom. They depicted stories of some kind of creatures doing various activities. Hunting, harvesting… many things. Some of the creatures present in the murals looked like animals they had seen before. The biggest thing to draw everyone's attention was an obelisk in the center, with two panels of some sort on both sides of it.

"Whoa…" Willow wandered around the area, looking at the murals. "Those… look like rabbits in some of these drawings and I think I see bees too but… what are those weird bug things?" She ran her hand over one of the unknown creatures. "They look humanish yet… monsterish."

"Beats me." Winona said, looking at the murals, raising an eyebrow. "Looks like something you would see some kind of indian tribe paint but last I checked we don't got those in this world save maybe the pigs but they aren't exactly artistically gifted." She looked over to the panels by the obelisk, making her way over, examining them. "Huh… these kind of remind me of controls you would see in the factory."

"Huh, you have a point there, Winona." Willow nodded in agreement. Wilson made his way over as well.

"Intriguing."

Maxwell kept quiet, looking at the murals, eyes wide. His eyes were soon draw to the obelisk in the center of the area. He looked closer, seeing there were carvings of pictures on it. It had the same unknown creatures the murals did. The image he saw showed two of them standing on a stage of sorts, facing each other, ready to perform some kind of ritual. His eyes shrunk a bit as he felt his blood go a bit cold.

For a moment, in place of the creatures, he saw himself and Charlie, performing on that fateful night.

" _MAXY!"_

He shook his head, deciding to look at the other pictures on the obelisk, only to find himself growing colder at what he saw. The next image showed one of the creatures growing in power, other creatures like it praising it for its accomplishments while the other sat off to the side, a worried expression on their face.

 _Don't think about it don't think about it._

He went to the next side, there, an image of the one who had grown in power was on the ground, weak, as the other defended it from monsters that were coming straight at them.

" _CHARLIE!"_

Maxwell wasn't sure if he wanted to look at the last side but yet he had to know how this story ended. He went pale at the sight of the last panel. The creature who had grown in power was stuck to a throne, a saddened look on their face and the one who had been protecting them was gone, the only thing remaining of them being a head piece they had worn.

He couldn't look away. His mind couldn't stop thinking of it. It was haunting him. That night… That night he lost everything. He moved around back to the first image, a pained look in his eyes as he brought his hand up to the figure who had died in the later panels. He looked at it, again, seeing Charlie in the creature's place. He lowered his head.

… _Why are you doing this to me?_

" _Why did you do this to US!?" a voice in his head screamed. "YOU DID THIS TO US!"_

Maxwell cringed, closing his eyes tightly at the sound of it.

 _Be silent, William. I had a deal to uphold-_

" _You lied to me. I know darn well what you did. YOU DID THIS TO US! YOU TURNED HER INTO THIS!"_

 _I said be silent!_

" _NO! You know why she brought us here! It's to remind us of what happened! How much of a bloody idiot I was and how much of a bloody idiot you were too!"_

 _I SAID BE SILENT!_

Maxwell growled a little.

 _You have… no… idea what these images mean to me as well. I feel your guilt but you have no idea what else these images invoke me… No… bloody… idea… you spineless magician!_

" _I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU CALL ME ANYMORE! YOU STOLE EVERYTHING! HOW DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THAT-"_

 _Quiet! I told you that you don't understand anything. I have eons on you. You… are practically a child compared to me._

" _That doesn't matter here and you know that! How could you ever understand what you've put me through!?"_

 _BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN THROUGH THAT! ALRIGHT!?_

William fell silent.

 _I've lost everything. Everything I've ever dared to even look at with a small amount of kindness or dare I say love._

Maxwell's hand gripped at the obelisk.

 _So trust me when I say this. These images are just as painful for me as they are for you. For you, it reminds you of the night I stole your freedom and I feel your pain because that's what you're feeling but for me… it reminds me of the bloody reason of why I exist._

" _... You know a lot more about this than you're letting on, don't you?"_

 _That's enough questions. Leave me be._

William went silent, leaving Maxwell alone with his thoughts.

"Maxwell?"

Maxwell looked to the side, seeing Wilson, who had a concerned expression in his features.

"Are… you alright? Both you and William? You seem distraught about something."

Maxwell shook his head.

"I don't want to talk about it." He murmured so only Wilson could hear. "I don't desire being interrogated."

"And the other one?"

"He's not in the mood for talking either." He glanced at the obelisk. "I'll just leave it at bad memories. You can try to put the rest together."

"Very well." Wilson looked to the image before them. "... It's so sad."

"It is."

"Hey, Wilson?"

Wilson looked over to Winona, who was messing with one of the panels.

"Yes?"

"I think I figured out how this thing works."

 _Probably best to leave Maxwell alone._

"Show me." He made his way over to her, curiosity in his eyes.

"So I was just tapping on what I'm going to call buttons and the panel responded. I kept tapping till each of these blocks here were filled but then it just reset. I'm guessing it responds to some kind of code but em… that's not my forte. I figure that's something you could figure out, perhaps?"

Wilson looked closely at it. "Hm... It looks like it needs to be pushed in a certain order. I'll try on one side and you do the other."

Winona nodded, doing as told. Both pushed certain buttons till the slots were filled but like before, no reaction.

"Hm… Maybe I need to do some code deciphering. It's not my specialty but knowing my dark knowledge I'll probably figure something out."

"You do that." Winona's stomach growled. "In the meantime, I think I'm gonna go get us some food. It's way past my lunch time."

"Food sounds great." Willow rubbed her stomach. "Tell you what, how about Winona and I go hunting and you can work on decoding this panel, Wilson?"

"Sounds fine to me, Willow." Wilson smiled, getting right back to work. There was a smirk on his face. "Besides, I like a challenge."

"Then it's a deal." Willow grinned, looking to Winona who grinned back at her. "Shall we go fry some?"

"Heck yeah!"

The two cheered before running off. Wilson shook his head, getting back to work.

 _Let's see… maybe there's a corresponding symbol for each of the ones already written on the slab._

He heard Maxwell moving around, noting the man was heading for the entrance.

"What are you doing?"

"Just need to be outside. I'll keep watch."

"Alright then… I guess."

 _He's acting so strange… Well, stranger than usual._

Wilson went back to work, the gears in his head turning as he tried to decipher the symbols on the slab. The world around him faded as he focused, trying out different symbols, hoping for a different result but none coming up. It was frustrating but he was determined.

 _Gotta find the pattern. Gotta find-_

Crack!

His head snapped up, looking around the room. No one was present but him. He looked to where the sound came from, seeing it was just a rock that had been displaced.

"Maxwell?"

He looked to the entrance, seeing Maxwell seated quite a ways away from the cave.

Wilson gripped tightly at his torch, moving around the room.

"Hello?" He asked. "Anyone there?"

He kept scanning the room but saw nothing… but then he could hear something moving around. It sounded like the scuttling noises he usually heard spiders make when they moved but yet it was also different somehow.

 _I swear if one of those buggers got in here I'm setting it on fire after I squash it._

But nothing was in sight on the ground or anywhere in his viewing range yet the scuttling could still be heard as he moved around. He decided to hold still. The scuttling stopped for a moment before it started again. He kept still, trying to follow the sound with his ears. It was… above him?

He slowly looked up, his eyes widening as he saw something above him wearing a cloak similar to his with the hood up, staring down at him with bright white eyes. It jumped back a bit before hurrying down from the ceiling to the floor and out of an exit he hadn't noticed in the cave.

"H-Hey!"

 _What on Earth was that!?_

Out of curiosity, Wilson crept to the exit, peeking his head outside.

The creature was on the run, heading straight into the darkness down a path barely lit by the red vein tile patterns. He looked back, knowing he should be working on his decoding… but he needed to know what was watching him. He took a deep breath before dashing down the path, pursuing the creature.

"Wait! Stop! Who are you!?" He asked.

The creature kept running, not looking back towards him. It clearly wasn't human, otherwise it would've needed a torch to keep Charlie at bay which just made Wilson's curiosity of the thing grow even bigger.

He kept up the pursuit, not even sure how far he had run from the cave. He soon came to a plateau that had multiple red spirals on it. The way it was designed, it almost seemed like the flooring of a palace. The creature was nowhere in sight, sadly.

He let out a frustrated sigh.

"Oh forget it. I should just head back-"

He stopped as he felt the ground rumble.

 _Oh no…_

The rumble turned into a violent tremor

 _EARTHQUAKE!_

Wilson ducked for cover as rocks started falling from the ceiling, bouncing off the tiled flooring. He cringed as he heard a loud crushing sound come from the path he had been on. He didn't dare look till the earthquake ended. He slowly looked to the path, his eyes going wide to see the path had been broken, creating a gap he knew wouldn't be able to cross with a simple jump.

… _Congrats Wilson. You just gave the others a reason to worry about you. AGAIN._

He rubbed his temples, letting out a frustrated sigh as he looked behind him.

"Well… best to keep moving then. There has to be another way back." He sighed as he started to make his way down an opposite path.

But then stopped when he heard the scuttling sound from before again. He looked around, his torch ready.

"Hello?" His eyes darted around, waving his torch in every direction. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

The scuttling continued… and it was getting louder… closer… till he could hear it clearly. His eyes widened as a pair of white eyes stared at him from the darkness. He swallowed hard, stumbling back.

Was it Charlie? A nightmare monster? Those were the only things he knew of with eyes like that… though, wait a minute. These eyes had a gentler look, not to mention they had what looked like inverse pupils.

They came closer, stepping into his torch's range of light. A body of a creature was now visible. It was reddish and tan in color and had six legs that looked like that of a scorpion along with a body to match on the lower half but the upper half bared a somewhat human resemblance with its torso and arms. In its hands was a spear made out of some gold colored material. The creature still had its hood on but it reached a hand up, lowering its hood to reveal a face. It looked human but it had no hair and instead had spikes growing out of the back and wore a headpiece made out of the same material as the spear.

It walked closer to Wilson, looking at him with eyes full of wonder, lowering its spear. Wilson stared in silence, eyes wide in shock, unsure how to react. The creature stretched a hand forward, bringing it to his chin, looking at his face carefully. Wilson didn't dare move, out of concern of possibly provoking the creature.

They stared silently before finally speaking and while what came out of their mouth sounded nothing like English… Wilson could understand it perfectly.

" **What are you?"**


	3. Laika

Wilson was in shock. He thought the most he was going to be dealing with was just decoding a text on a slab and finding his way out of the caves but this… he could never have expected this. A creature he had never seen in his life was standing before him. One he could understand.

He stared in silence.

They could speak.

And they weren't attacking him even though from the looks of it they could do it with ease.

Wilson remained silent as the creature looked at him before they took the blunt end of their spear and lightly poked him in the forehead.

" **I said, what are you?"**

"H-Hey!" Wilson batted the spear away. "I would appreciate you not doing that! That's rude!"

The creature backed off, hissing a bit, holding the sharp end of the spear at him.

" **Answer my question, creature! What are you?"**

"I'm a human! Though I should be asking you that question." Wilson grasped the spear, forcing it down away from him. "And that's rude too!"

The creature seemed baffled, staring at Wilson carefully.

" **Hoo… mon…?"**

"Yes. Human. Homosapien, hominid… Hairless monkey?"

" **I have… never heard of such a thing."** They walked around him. " **Though… you do look a little bit like a splumonkey… save not as ugly… or hairy… or rude… or such improper posture. You stand completely upright."**

Wilson gave her a flat look. "You know calling someone ugly is still rude, right? And I like to think I have good posture. It's healthier for one's back and it's proper."

" **I said splumonkies were ugly, not you and you have way better posture."**

He shook his head. "So what are you?"

The creature was about to speak before a hiss cut them off. The creature growled.

" **I'll tell you that later. We need to move."**

They grabbed Wilson's wrist, dragging him along the plateau to an area with walls and pillars, hiding behind them. They stayed in front of him, peering out from behind the pillar. They looked to Wilson and then to his torch.

" **Put that light out. You'll draw attention to us."**

Wilson growled a bit. "Not on my life. I put this out and the Night Monster will kill me."

The creature gave a confused look before shaking their head.

" **Well… find some way to hide it or we're both dead."**

"We'll kill it-"

The creature clamped a hand over his mouth, bringing part of their cloak over his torch just enough to douse the light without causing their cloak to catch fire.

" **Shh!"**

Wilson tried to speak, his speech completely muffled but he went completely silent as he saw a huge worm like creature with a light of some sort dangling from its head pass by them. It looked around, growling. It came close to where Wilson and the creature were, looking around blindly before moving on. It prowled around the area before finally leaving. Once it was completely silent, the creature moved their hand away.

They sighed in relief.

" **Too close. Usually I take those things head on but you have no weapon so that wouldn't have been wise."**

Wilson sighed in relief as well, vaguely wondering what he had just gotten himself into. He just wanted to find a way back to the others.

"I see. So is it safe for us to leave now?"

" **Yes. I know a safe spot where we can chat, hoomon."** They waved their hand, heading down a path from the plateau.

Wilson followed, falling into step with the creature. He wanted to correct them but they seemed more focused on the task of walking.

 _I'll correct them when we stop._

Wilson followed close, unable to tear his eyes away from the creature. He just… wasn't sure what to make of it.

 _Human… yet bug like… or arachnid like since the lower half resembles a scorpion… though those colors…_

He looked at his attire and noticed it looked rather similar to the body of the creature.

… _I have so many questions._

They soon came to another plateau, the creature stopping, grabbing some logs from behind a pile of rocks and making a small fire.

" **Are you hungry?"** the creature asked.

Wilson blinked, nodding as he heard his stomach growl faintly. "Ah, yes. If you have anything."

" **Mm-hm!"**

The creature hurried off before coming back with some meat and vegetables on a stick.

" **Are you a veggie eater or meat eater?"**

"Both. I'm an omnivore."

" **Oh, just like me."** The creature handed him a stick. " **Just be sure to cook it before eating."**

"Of course."

Wilson stuck his torch in the ground, sitting down by the fire, roasting his meal before biting into it. He looked over to the creature. He couldn't help but watch for a minute, curious about how they would eat. It was a bit of a shock to see them eat exactly like him, though he did note the creature had sharper teeth than him.

 _Interesting._

He decided to focus on his meal, taking another bite. Though the next thing he knew the creature had a hold of on one of his legs and was looking at it with a raised eyebrow.

"Grk! What are you doing!?" Wilson exclaimed.

" **Such a strange structure. How do you walk on two legs? Isn't it hard not having six?"**

"No, they work just fine for me. Now, let go, please. I'm trying to eat here and this is really uncomfortable!"

The creature let go, backing off.

" **My apologies."**

Wilson sighed, shaking his head, going back to his food. "I can walk just fine. I learned just like how anyone else does - when you're a small toddler."

The creature tilted their head.

" **Toddlar?"**

"A young child."

" **Oh! Like a thuleling."**

"Thuleilng?"

" **A young Thulecitian."** The creature grinned. " **Which is what I am. Er not a thuleling, I'm fully grown. A Thulecitian. That is what my people are known as."**

"I… see. I have so many questions but can we wait till I'm done eating?"

" **Sure."**

"Thank you."

Wilson dug back into his meal while the creature sat silently. After he was finished, they spoke up.

" **So are you a researcher of sorts? A scientist perhaps?"**

Wilson looked to the creature, surprised at them for asking such a question.

"Actually… I am. How did you guess?"

" **Well, first hint, your diminished physique. You don't have a lot of muscle to say you're a field worker or warrior."**

Wilson's face turned bright red, giving the creature a glare.

"I'm not that scrawny!"

The creature giggled before moving closer to him, touching the centerpiece of his headband.

" **And the other hint, your head band."**

Wilson's anger vanished, curiosity coming to his eyes, glancing up.

"What about it?"

" **Only our researchers and scientists wear bands like these. The two side pieces resemble the horns of the crown of the king, meaning they seek wisdom that they wish to use to improve the lives of all and see the king as their equal in knowledge and pursuit."**

"Oh… I… I had no idea they had that much meaning. That's… quite the status."

The creature pulled back, looking him over.

" **So… you are what they call a hoo-mon as you said?"**

"Human and yes." Wilson raised an eyebrow. "Is something making you doubt that claim?"

" **No, no, just… your garb and how you speak I would just think you're a Thulecitian with a different build."**

Wilson blinked back confusion.

"How I speak?"

The creature tilted their head.

" **You speak fluent Thulecitian. Not just anybody knows our language. Only our own kind."**

"But… I… I don't know of your language. I mean, I can understand you even if I'm hearing a different dialect that's far from English. I don't even know how I understand it in the first place I just… do."

" **Well, I guess you can't hear yourself at the moment then because you're speaking it right now."**

Wilson went quiet, a puzzled look coming to his face.

"That… That can't be right. I'm speaking English."

" **Stop focusing on my voice for a moment. Focus on yours. Just… say something. Like… your name. It'll definitely sound different in Thulecitian and I haven't quite learned your name so it would be good to know."**

Wilson gave the creature a flat look before turning away from her, closing his eyes, taking a deep breath. Tuning everything else out.

Soon as the world was quiet to him, he spoke but what he heard… was not English. Not in the slightest, coming out of his own mouth but like with the creature, he knew exactly what he said.

" **Wilson-!"**

He brought a hand to his throat, his eyes going wide.

" **See?"**

Wilson said his name again and again he heard the other language.

"H-How..? I.. I shouldn't even know how to-" It clicked in his mind. "… The dark knowledge. It has to be that. Anytime I didn't know how to do something I always learned something after hearing or seeing it within moments. Not to mention the random facts about this world and skills that pour into my head from time to time." He ran a hand through his hair. "This is unbelievable."

" **I think it's incredible."** The creature giggled. " **So, Wilson's your name? Never heard anything like it before."**

"It is. Wilson Percival Higgsbury is my full name."

" **That's a mouthful of names for just one person. I only have one."**

"Speaking of, I think I deserve to knows yours since you now know mine. On top of that, we never did give ourselves proper introductions."

The creature smiled, nodding.

" **Laika. My name is Laika."**

"Laika, huh?"

Laika nodded.

" **Yep. Proud warrior and scavenger of my village. I may not be as strong as the males but I can put up quite the fight."**

Wilson chuckled.

"Well, Laika, it's a pleasure to meet you."

" **It's a pleasure to meet you too, Wilson."** She tilted her head, looking him over. " **So… do other humans look exactly like you?"**

Wilson laughed.

"Oh, no! We're all different in our own ways. Some of us look similar but none of us are exactly the same in appearance."

" **How so?"**

"Well, some of us our taller, shorter, different eye colors, different hair colors, styles and lengths. The list goes on."

" **Oh, I see!"** Laika smiled. " **It's kind of the same for us too. Some Thulecitians are bigger or smaller than others and some have different kinds of spines growing out of their backs and heads. Though I can't say we vary in colors. We all have the same skin and eyes. The best we differentiate ourselves is by our headbands."**

"I see. You said mine was the kind your researchers and scientists wear. Is the one you're wearing the one for hunters?"

" **Hunters and warriors."** Laika touched the center of her headpiece. " **It's the traditional band, said to have been worn by the great warriors who helped the king in establishing the great city."**

"Great city?"

Laika nodded.

" **Yep. The great city of these very caves that once stood proud and strong many centuries ago."**

Wilson had a curious look come to his eyes.

"That's interesting. Where is it?"

Laika frowned, looking at the area around them.

" **We're standing on a section of it. Least, what's left of it."**

Wilson frowned, laying a hand on her shoulder. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't meant to touch a nerve."

" **No, no. It's fine you didn't know and the city was never my home. It was to my ancestors all those centuries ago. I've never known it personally but I can only imagine what it might've been like."** Laika got up, walking around the area, smoothing her hands over certain broken structures. " **Beautifully constructed structures, huge masses of magic flowing through the veins of the floor and columns, Thulecitians harnessing that magic to make all sorts of things."** She smiled, sighing a bit. " **Technological advances that are beyond anyone's wildest dreams…"**

Wilson smiled a little, trying to imagine it. It must have been quite the sight.

"It sounds like it was wonderful Laika. I wish I could've seen what it was like back then."

" **You and me both."** She turned to him. " **The most I know is what the elders tell me and the others. They miss it but they are just happy we are still here and that we at least have a small village that calls back to that time. We may not be as advanced but we do have technology similar to that great time. Least, that's what the elders say."** Laika giggled. " **Sorry kind of rambled there for a moment. I've never really talked to any other creature before like this."**

"No, no it's fine!" He chuckled. "It's quite fascinating to hear about this. This world is so odd I never would've imagined.."

" **What about your kind, Wilson?"** Laika walked back over to him, sitting down. " **Have humans developed technology too of any sort? Structures? Where are you from exactly? Are you from a different part of the caves?"**

Wilson shook his head.

"Our kind have developed some technology but it's not as advanced as I would like sometimes. There's things like automobiles that are just starting to gain steam, they're a type of transport. As for structures we have houses, school buildings, hospitals. I'm from a planet called Earth."

Laika's eyes grew wide with wonder.

" **As in… another world? You've perfected teleportation between worlds?"**

Wilson frowned, a haunted look coming to his eyes. "I wish Laika… I wish. Earth is my home… but I made an unfortunate deal thus leading to me being transported here. I can't leave now."

Laika frowned.

" **A deal… I see. So They tricked you too."**

Wilson looked at her confused.

"They?"

" **The monsters of the dark. Shadow Creatures. Nightmare Monsters."** Laika shuddered. " **Those that came from the other side of the Gateway."**

"Something like that but I made a deal with the one who called himself once the God of this world. The king known as Maxwell." He sighed. "And now the new queen will continue what he started - whether she agrees or not."

Laika shivered.

" **The gods are the ones who banished us down here."**

"Banished?"

" **Many years ago the stairways our ancestors built were sealed off. It was said to be a sign from the gods that we were no longer welcome to the surface we once called home because of the mistakes our people made with dealing with the nightmare monsters and the fuel they gave us… That cursed fuel."** Laika lowered her head. " **We're just like anything else down here. Hidden away from the world. Destined to be forgotten by the sands of time."**

Wilson frowned, bringing an arm around her as she huddled closer to him.

"Laika.. I… I'm so sorry." He lowered his gaze. "That's not fair at all to you. You deserve to see the light."

" **No. If we go up there we'll just be destroyed. I just know it."**

"Who's to say that will actually happen?"

Laika lowered her head.

" **I've always been taught to fear the gods and to not question them. We have brave scavengers who go up to get food once and awhile but they are quick and fast and don't see much during their travels since they need to be weary of the gods catching them."** She closed her eyes. " **I would go up there if I had enough courage… I admit, one day… I want to see the surface for myself. Even if it's just for one day I want to know what it looks like. Know what's out there."**

"Then I'll take you there."

She looked up at him stunned.

Wilson gave her a serious look. "I will. I promise. You deserve to know what it's like even for a bit."

" **But… the gods…"**

"I've met them in person and stared them in the face. Honestly, I don't think they're going to care if you decide to poke your head above the surface. Long as you're with me they can't touch you."

Laika stared at him, a somewhat mortified look on her face.

" **You've… stared the gods in the face!? Isn't that terrifying? I'm surprised you're not dead!"**

Wilson chuckled.

"Well, I mean, it's happened a few times but we have items for resurrection so it's really not that difficult to deal with. A tell tale heart here or there, a life giving amulet. All the same really."

" **Wow…"** Laika pulled back, looking him over. " **You humans really are something if you can stare a god in the face."**

 _More like an idiot some days to be honest since those encounters with both Maxwell and Charlie did not end well for me but she does not need to hear that story._

"We just improvise and do our best to get by."

" **I see."** Laika looked around before digging into something in her cloak, pulling out some kind of medallion. She frowned, looking at the item that seemed to slowly be turning red. " **Well… as much as I would like to see the surface, right now we need to get to my village before the nightmare cycle begins. I do not want to be around for when the nightmare monsters are at their strongest or to see any of that cursed fuel that likes to leak out of the ground or pillars."** She hissed a bit. " **It's disgusting."**

"Nightmare Cycle?"

" **It's an occurance down here in the caves. It's said to be caused by the ruins of the once great city. While it no longer stands the magic it once controlled still remains and likes to become active at certain times. When it happens, nightmare monsters run rampant and everything seems to turn nightmarish itself and nightmare fuel likes to leak out of old structures."** Another hiss escaped her mouth. " **Like I said, it's disgusting."**

He cringed as he stood up, Laika rising with him.

"Let's get going then. I don't want to be here when that starts then."

" **We'll head straight for my village then. We'll be safe there."**

Both nodded before they began walking down a path till Wilson stopped in tracks.

"Wait…"

" **Something wrong?"**

Wilson looked back, concern crossing his eyes.

"My friends. They're out wandering in the caves and I don't think they're aware of the nightmare cycle, save maybe one of them and they have no idea where I am since I ran off on short notice."

Laika swallowed hard.

" **Oh… I didn't know you had company. I'm sorry I got you separated from them."**

Wilson shook his head.

"It's okay. Let's try to find them though. I don't want them to get hurt - though honestly Laika. Take care of yourself, I'll be fine-"

" **No."** Laika gave a look. " **I shall take responsibility for my actions and help you. I'm sure I can help you find a way back to them. I know this area like the back of my hand."**

"Laika-"

" **Please, on my warrior's honor."**

 _I'm getting flashbacks to Wigfrid._

"... Alright though the way I came got smashed."

" **Won't be an issue. There are many paths that lead to different plateaus and even if there's a gap, don't worry. I have a way around them."**

Wilson smiled a little, taking a deep breath.

"Very well! Let's carry on then!"

" **Onward!"**


	4. Cursed

"What!?"

Maxwell cringed at the volume of Willow's voice.

"You heard me. Wilson seems to have disappeared on us… again."

"Oh that little- When I get my hands on him I'm burning all his science equipment and making him stay in camp for a week!" Willow stomped off to the side, rambling about some other instances of setting things on fire as means of punishing Wilson.

"He just has a bad habit of making people worry about him, doesn't he?" Winona asked, crossing her arms. "Maybe we should invest in making a leash or something."

"Let's not be demeaning now though he really does need to work on not wandering off."

"Though that begs the question, do you know where?"

Maxwell shrugged.

"Heck if I know. I was sitting outside. I didn't realize he was gone till I looked inside after a small earthquake."

"Oh so you didn't even bother keeping an eye out for him!?"

"Oh don't you start with me, woman!"

"We're supposed to look out for each other, Max!"

"It's not MY job to be sure Higgsbury doesn't wander off. I'm not his babysitter. He's a grown man… relatively speaking."

"You know I oughta sock you in the jaw for that."

"You wouldn't."

"I would."

Willow came back over.

"Well, I guess we better go find the idiot then. He couldn't have gone too far considering his track record of walking into trouble."

"Quite." Maxwell looked around, humming in thought though stopped as felt a cold chill run through him. He could hear voices… and the air felt different. "... Actually, we better hold off on traveling."

"What?" Winona narrowed her eyes. "What in tarnation for?"

"For safety reasons."

"Safety?" Winona raised an eyebrow. "Since when has our safety as a whole mattered to you?"

"Well for one I depend on all of you and two I'm also concerned about my own."

"What exactly should we be so worried about? We can handle anything that comes our way with a little bit of fire." Willow said, holding up her lighter.

"This is a different kind of danger. One that can not be dealt with easily with just combat."

"Well, what is it then? Spit it out."

Maxwell sighed.

"It's something known as the nightmare cycle. Something that only occurs down here in the caves."

"Maxwell… how much are you not telling us?" Willow growled. "Because if something's out there waiting to kill Wilson then I swear I'm gonna-"

"Willow." Maxwell narrowed his eyes. "Listen to me. This place in general has things of all sorts that will try to kill you from spiders to creatures you swear came straight from Hell itself. We can't do anything at the moment as it stands for Higgsbury but we also need to be mindful of ourselves if we are intent on finding him. The nightmare cycle brings out the worst in the caves. Monsters take on different forms, dark magic is running rampant through the air that can give even people like me splitting headaches and it's overall just not safe. We need to wait for the cycle to pass before we go searching."

Willow sighed, lowering her gaze, grabbing onto her lighter. "Fine… Fine. This is all your fault anyway."

"Pardon me?"

"You were the king. You made this."

Maxwell growled a bit, his fists clenching a little.

"This is something that was out of my hands."

"There he goes lying again." Winona rolled her eyes. "Typical."

"No, I didn't make this place! This is none of my doing!"

"Right. Says the man who loves toting the title of being the god of this world."

"Just because I said that doesn't mean everything was made by my hands! This Hellish place is nothing of my doing! It never was! It was the blasted king of a civilization that once ruled here who made this place the way it is! It. Wasn't. My. FAULT!" Maxwell snarled. "They cursed themselves the minute the king made a deal with Them!"

"They?" Winona narrowed her eyes. "THEY!? Who is they?"

Maxwell growled. "None of your business."

"Well it is now since someone's getting wound up about it. Something you would like to share, Max?"

Maxwell turned away.

"If you don't want my help, so be it. I'll let the spineless one deal with you two."

Maxwell cringed, holding his head, falling to his knees, crying out a bit.

Winona and Willow hurried over, kneeling beside him. Maxwell panted before a different expression came to his face entirely. One that was more scared yet gentle. He sighed, digging into his cloak, pulling out a pair of glasses, slipping them on.

"He must be in a bad mood if he made the switch painful…" He said. "What happened?"

"He had a tantrum because he lost Wilson and we're mad at him for it."

"And he claimed he didn't have a hand in this warped place."

"I see." He rubbed his temples. "I'm not surprised he threw a tantrum."

Willow frowned, stroking his back.

"Sorry for this, William. Didn't mean for you to get hurt."

"It's nothing, really." William gave a small smile before looking around. "Though one thing I will clear up… He actually is telling the truth when it comes to him having no hand in this place."

"... William, you must be tired. You can't be serious."

"I am. He didn't make this place the way it is."

Winona raised an eyebrow. "Care to share, Magician?"

"Well… from what I know, this place was the result of a civilization that existed centuries ago." William looked to the cave paintings. "Actually… if I'm right, these strange creatures we see here in these paintings were that civilization. All this here was their work they left behind."

"But did Max make them?"

William shook his head.

"No. Actually… they existed before him."

Their eyes grew wide. "What?"

"Something older than needle nose?"

William gave a mildly offended look before he continued on. "In fact… I think they created **him.** "

"What?"

"I don't know all the details but something happened and then he began to exist-" He cringed, holding his head.

" _One more word out of you and it's migraines nonstop for the next 24 hours. So do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut!"_

"Gah… I can't say more on the matter. Not unless I want pain."

"It's okay, Will. You don't have to."

William nodded, sighing.

"All I can say is this place legitimately bothers him and he hates being in it or talking about it."

Willow frowned. "I see."

"If it bugs him we need to get the heck out then."

"That we do but we need to find Wilson first… least, after we can avoid the nightmare cycle."

"Know anything about it?"

"I do and for now I think it's best we stay in this area until it passes. This place is sheltered and not near any areas where nightmare monsters gather or any of the other beasts in this cave. We just have to wait it out here and then we can go searching for Wilson."

Willow sighed. "I'll get a fire started then." She lowered her head, heading over to an area they had passed that had some trees and twigs somehow growing.

 _Wilson… I swear to the fire gods if you get yourself killed you will owe me a life supply of charcoal after we find you and bring you back._

 _Just… please don't be dead._

oooooo

" **Hey, Wilson?"**

"Hm?"

" **I'm curious. Why do you always carry a torch or need a light source? Can you not see in the dark?"**

"I can't. Even if I could my eyes only adjust so much. But it's also because of a more sinister reason. Do you not fear the Grue?"

Laika hummed in thought.

" **We do not fear her but we are mindful of her. Our main course of action is she doesn't bother us we don't bother her. Though I won't deny she seems a little scary here and there when she's in a bad mood or hunting."** Laika shuddered. " **Then again a lot of things that live in the dark are scary to look at."**

Wilson frowned "There is much indeed in the dark for human or Thulecitian that are terrifying to behold."

" **Reason I'm both grateful and annoyed with my ability to see in the dark. I'm grateful because I can see my enemies no matter the lighting but annoyed with what I can see but you pick your battles."** Laika twirled her spear a little. " **Nothing I can't handle."**

"I can believe it." Wilson smiled. "So, the Grue doesn't bother you?"

" **No, she mainly keeps to herself. Seems she's always on the hunt or looking for something. I can only recall one time I did interact with but that's because she was crying and I wanted to know what was bothering her. Sadly, I couldn't understand anything she was saying and I don't think she could understand me either. Most I could tell you is that she would speak and keep fumbling with a flower in her hand. Though she looked weird the last time I saw her. She had a fancy garb on and was poking around the ruins."**

He frowned. He knew that appearance all too well.

"So you saw Queen Charlie. Not just the Grue but what she's transformed into. SHE'S in charge now."

Laika stopped.

" **W-Wait… I… I saw… a GOD!? I interacted with a GOD!? The Grue is a GOD!?"**

"Not in the same sense as Maxwell but might as well be." Wilson looked to her. "But she's nothing-"

" **Wilson, you do NOT question or challenge gods. Doing so is what gets you cursed or worse, smited."**

Wilson chuckled.

"I have nothing to fear."

Laika stared at him with a mortified look.

" **... Wilson, I like you but I'm going to be honest. You're insane."**

Wilson shrugged.

"I get that a lot to be perfectly honest. Willow tells me that every day."

Laika blinked.

" **Willow?"**

"She's one of my friends. I guess I haven't really brought them up much. She was my first real companion in this world."

" **I see. You two are close?"**

"Yes. Just like I am with all my other companions."

" **I see. So it's just camaraderie?"**

Wilson turned a bit red.

"Well it's… more than that."

" **Oh?"**

"She and I are courting… Do your people do that?"

" **We do."** Laika smiled. " **So she's a possible mate to be?"**

"I-I suppose so, ehehe." Wilson rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "I admit, it's still hard to believe it some days that she even chose to be with me. I drive her up the wall some days."

" **Well, as some have told me, feelings work in strange ways."**

Wilson nodded, clearing his throat, shaking off the redness from his face.

"Can we talk about something else please?"

" **Of course. So, who are the rest of your friends that are down here?"**

"Well, there's Winona who is one of the stronger ones of our group. She can put up quite the fight. Then there's… William. He's a bit skittish but knowledgeable about this world."

" **I see and is that all of your friends?"**

"Oh no there's a lot more of us up on the surface. Our whole camp is made up of at least 13 people in total."

" **That's practically a small village."**

"More or less. We all pull our weight and do what we can to survive in this world."

" **You all take care of each other. That's wonderful."**

"It is." Wilson smiled softly. "Sure, days can be hard but least I know at the end of the day I'm not alone and having people depend on me is what drives me to be better."

Laika nodded, looking ahead, eyes narrowing.

" **Exercise caution. The path in particular we're following is known for having traps set up along with monsters and is labyrinth like in nature. It can be easy to get lost if you don't keep track of where you are."**

Wilson nodded, keeping right behind her as they moved through the tunnel. He looked around nervously.

Laika was tensed up, her spear ready as her eyes looked at the surrounding area. It was too quiet for her liking. Way too quiet.

They continued on, not hearing a single sound… till footsteps of some kind were heard. Ones that sounded metallic.

" **We have company."** Laika hissed, readying her spear. " **Ready?"**

Wilson nodded raising his torch.

"Ready." He whispered.

Their enemies soon came into view. Clockwork beasts that were in disrepair. Wilson and Laika narrowed her eyes, counting there was at least five of them. One rook, two knights and two bishops.

The rook charged them as the bishops shot lightning bolts at them. The two moved out of the way quickly, rolling to the side from the blast the lightning bolts made.

Laika hissed before charging one of the knights, impaling them right in the neck with her spear.

" **You don't scare me you metal beasts!"**

Wilson used his torch to blind the rook before leading it away as it crashed into one of the cave walls, the ground trembling beneath them. He narrowed his eyes.

"Anyone else want a taste?"

The other knight snorted at Wilson before charging at him. He smirked a bit before jumping out of the way, grazing the back of its neck with his torch, moving out the way before it could retaliate.

"Ha!"

" **Nice!"** Laika cheered as she took on one of the bishops, dodging the lightning bolts being thrown at her. " **That all you got, you bucket of bolts?"**

The bishop seemed to sneer at her before shooting another bolt that sent Laika flying across the path, almost sending her off the edge… though she was stopped when she rammed into something. She groaned, looking up as she saw she had smashed into was a ornately decorated treasure chest. Her eyes shrunk a little.

 _Oh no._

"Laika!" Wilson growled as he rushed over, shoving the bishop hard from behind as it tumbled over the edge instead. He looked to her concerned. "Are you alright-"

A loud zap sounded off a lightning bolt fired past Laika and Wilson, hitting the treasure chest, causing it to break open. The clockwork quickly fled as the magic spilled out. Laika and Wilson looked around in horror at the shadow magic that wisped around them.

"W-What is this?" Wilson asked, eyes wide.

" **The treasure chest I slammed into was an enchanted one. That blasted clockwork smashed it open releasing the curse it held. There's no telling what might-"**

Both gasped as they were grabbed by shadow hands and lifted up into the air. They squirmed, trying to get free but to no avail. They looked to each other, trying to reach a hand out to grasp.

They soon stopped as they both felt a pain go through them.

" **W-What's-"** Laika gasped, feeling the pain increase, letting out a shriek.

"LAIKA!" Wilson felt the pain for him increase too, crying out. "AUGH!"

Things went dark. His body felt hot. Bones were bending in ways they shouldn't. He wanted to cry out again but he couldn't, the scream caught in his throat. He was panicking. He didn't know what to do.

A loud successions of snaps sounded off, Wilson finally crying out as the pain came to an end. The heat he was feeling resided, his weak body meeting the cold floor of the cave. He looked up weakly, able to see surroundings again. His eyes squinted, seeing a young woman with red hair lying across from him passed out, dressed in a grab that was similar to the one he was wearing… or had been.

He groaned, passing out, not seeing how he now resembled something that was far from human.


	5. Adapt

Willow's head snapped up at the sound of agonizing screams that echoed through the caves.

"Did anyone else hear that?" she asked, getting up, looking around. "I'm not the only one who heard that, right?"

"No, I heard it too." Winona frowned, concern going through her.

William gulped. "It was definitely real."

Willow poked her head outside the cave, scanning the area.

"It's one we're all familiar with. Just hope that didn't belong to who I think it might belong to."

"We can only hope." William lowered his head. "It's still too dangerous to go out."

"I'm willing to sacrifice safety if it means making sure one of our companions is safe." Winona cracked her knuckles. "So this Nightmare Cycle thing causes things to get worse. Big woop. We'll just roll with the punches."

"I-I'm not sure." William glanced to the side. "You are strong Winona but it might be too much even for you."

"Oh yeah? Ballpark it." She gave him a look.

"Your sanity will lower rapidly. You'll hallucinate."

"Worth it. Right Willow?"

"Right!"

"L-Ladies please we shouldn't-."

"Don't worry, Beanpole." Winona hauled William over her shoulders. "We'll keep you safe."

"W-Wait I didn't agree to-!"

"Too bad! Shall we Willow?"

Willow grabbed herself up a spear. "LET'S BURN IT ALL!"

William gulped as they ran off, carrying him in tow.

"Ladies-!"

"We're coming Wilson! Hang in there!"

 _I'm going to die!_

oooooo

Wilson could barely move. His body felt twisted and sore in various places. He opened his eyes slowly, seeing his torch was planted firmly in the ground, providing a light source. He sighed in relief, happy to know he wasn't in the dark. His brow furrowed though as he saw the red headed girl from before again. She was still out cold.

 _Where did she come from…? And where's Laika?_

His scanned the area, seeing no sign of the Thulecitian. Concern started to flood his mind. Had the treasure chest's curse thrown her off a ledge? Was… she possibly dead?

 _No. Don't go there. She has to be fine. She has to be. I just need to find her. Now if I could just get my body to move that would be great._

Wilson grimaced as he tried to force himself to his feet, feeling his joints crack and pop as he managed to sit up.

 _My legs… I need to move my legs._

He tried to get his legs to move out in front of him… but they didn't. They couldn't. He noted with how he was sitting up he should be on his knees but… it didn't feel like that. He looked down, his eyes growing wide as he noted his knees were nowhere to be seen. Instead, he saw the front part of the lower half of a scorpion body. He swallowed hard, looking behind him, seeing behind him was the rest of the body, tail included. His breathing grew shaky as he noted the three legs on each side, totalling up to six.

This… wasn't his body, was it?

He reached his hand to the closest leg, pinching it, cringing as he felt pain, a gasp escaping him as he looked at his hand. It only had two fingers and a thumb now and was red in color and the way it was structured was more bug like than human.

 _Wh-What's happening to me?_

Wilson's hands began to shake as he reached back to feel his hair, his hands finding sharp and angled spines protruding from his skull where his hair would've been. He closed his eyes tightly. This had to be some kind of nightmare.

This wasn't him.

It couldn't!

 _I'm human. I'm human. I'm human. I'm human. I'M HUMAN._

 _WAKE UP WILSON WAKE UP! IT'S JUST A NIGHTMARE! I'M NOT LIKE THIS! THIS ISN'T ME! THIS ISN'T ME!_

He heard a moan from the red headed girl. His head snapped towards her, seeing she was regaining consciousness. She sat up a little, opening her eyes, showing they were a silver grey color. She was looking at Wilson with blurry vision.

" **Wilson…?"** the girl asked, her voice being one he recognized immediately by the pitch and language but he wasn't sure if his mind was playing tricks on him.

Wilson hesitated a moment before he spoke.

"Laika? Is that you?"

She gave him a confused look as her vision started to clear before she gasped. " **What happened to you?"**

"I should be asking you the same thing."

Laika blinked before looking at herself, another gasp escaping her mouth as she took in her appearance. She looked at her hands, bending each finger individually before moving her hands to her head, feeling the hair she now had.

" **Oh no… no no no… This… This can't be happening… I…"** Her eyes shrunk a bit. " **The treasure chest's curse."**

"It seems our bodies have been switched." He shuddered. "I'm a Thulecitian and you're… you're human Laika."

Laika looked to Wilson, horror in her eyes.

" **By King Tenebrae's crown… I… Wilson I…"** She brought her hands to her face. " **Oh Ancients!"**

"Laika… Laika deep breath. There has to be an answer to this. Even if it's confusing."

Laika gave him a look, shaking her head.

" **How can you even be calm!? This… I didn't want this!"**

"And neither did I." Wilson worked his legs as best as he could, barely scuttling enough to get closer to Laika, placing a hand on her shoulder. "But panicking is not going to fix it. If there's a curse, there's usually a way to reverse it."

" **How do you know for sure?"**

"Experience." Wilson gave a gentle look. "Laika, this is shocking for me too but we need to keep it together if we want to work our way through this. So with me… deep breaths. In and out."

Laika nodded, doing as told, relaxing a little bit with every breath till her shaking stopped.

" **S-Sorry… A warrior is trained to not panic in situations like this and I just broke that."**

Wilson stroked her back gently.

"It's fine. Even scientists get scared sometimes." He gave her a gentle yet firm look. "And we will figure this out. Your people have scientists yes? Perhaps they can aid us."

" **Y-Yes and the head chief specializes in magic. H-He would know something about reversing something like this."**

"When you're able to walk, let's try to get to your home then." Wilson suggested. "And then you can also get used to this a bit as well."

" **Same could be said for you."** Laika looked at his legs. " **Can you even move those properly?"**

Wilson gave a sheepish look as he tried but only wound up more so limping.

"Not exactly."

" **Guess we're both stuck then."** Laika sighed, lowering her head. " **Seems I have just brought you misfortune Wilson… I'm… I'm sorry."**

Wilson frowned, bringing her closer, feeling her stiffen up as he brought his arms around her.

"None of that talk now, Missy."

Laika remained stiff, unsure of how to react for a moment before bringing her arms around him, burying her face into cloak.

" **Wilson I… I…"**

Wilson shushed her, stroking her hair as she nuzzled his hand a little bit. Her shaking returned as she sobbed, crying out a little.

"Shh… Shh…"

" **I'm sorry… I'm sorry!"**

"It'll be okay, Laika." Wilson rested his head against hers. "I promise."

A churring sound could be heard from his throat, causing him to freeze up a little.

 _W-What was that?_

Laika looked up, unable to help but giggle a little.

" **You're definitely Thulecitian. That's one of the noises we can make with our throat."**

"W-What does it mean?"

" **You're purring!"**

Wilson shook his head, hugging her a bit tighter. He tried to relax only to wind up making the noise again.

"Aw come on!"

Laika was full out laughing now.

" **It's nothing bad, Wilson. It just means you're relaxed and trying to help someone else relax. My mother did it all the time for me as did my father. It's instinct that causes us to do it."**

"Well, I'm glad." He nuzzled her a little, churring again. "Is it helping?"

Laika nodded.

" **Yes."**

"Good. I'm glad."

Laika smiled, keeping close for another moment before pulling back.

" **Well… guess we should try getting adjusted."** She swallowed hard as she looked at her new legs before trying to move them… though unable to help herself as she tried to move both in the same motion at the same time, causing her fall over. " **Ow."**

"Easy, Laika. We don't walk like that." Wilson helped her up. "Try one at a time." He took hold of both her arms, holding them out apart from her. "Like this until your steady."

Laika nodded before doing as told. She wobbled a bit as she got one leg to move up, the other one still bent til lfinally she was on her feet.

" **H-How do you keep balanced on just two of these?"**

"It's instinct. Just like how it is when you learn to walk as a… a thuling, right?"

" **Yes."** Laika wobbled as she took her first step, a sharp gasp escaping her as she nearly fell over, quickly regaining her balance. " **O-One leg in front of the other…"**

"You can do it. Just keep moving. You'll get used to it."

Laika nodded, continuing on. Her strides were wobbly but were gaining balance. She fell over a few times but soon got back on her feet, sometimes using Wilson as a means of standing. Soon enough, she was walking around the area with ease.

" **This feels so weird but l don't feel like I'm going to fall over anymore at least."**

"That's very good." Wilson smiled.

" **What about you though?"**

Wilson looked at his new legs, moving some of them slightly.

"I'll just have to figure mine out too, though I'll need help."

" **Of course."**

Laika offered her hands, helping Wilson to his feet.

" **You have six legs to account for now which can be a lot to keep track of at once if you're not used to it but like with you and two legs, six legs will become natural. You just need to synchronize them properly."**

"Right."

Wilson swallowed hard, moving one leg forward… cringing as two of his legs got tangled in each other.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!"

" **Easy now."**

Laika got his legs untangled.

" **Careful with your legs. No matter the side, all three legs have to move at the same time and in the same direction or they'll get tangled up in each other. I remember doing it a few times myself when I first learning how to walk."**

Wilson winced as he got to his feet once more, stumbling as he started to walk. He was wobbly for a bit until he started to go at what he felt was his normal speed.

"H-How's this?"

" **You're doing great, Wilson, just keep up the momentum."** Laika slowly let go of his hands, letting Wilson walk on his own, his legs starting to move without getting tangled. " **Yep, you got this. Give it enough time and you could walk up walls too."**

"Haha, no. Not even going to try that one, Missy." He smirked a little. "I rather not test gravity in this form."

Laika shrugged.

" **If you say so. I guess humans can't walk up walls?"**

"No. Gravity works against us."

" **I guess you don't have our feet structure then because I've been on the ceiling of the caves before. It's quite fun and not that hard to do. Just need to dig your claws in."**

He shook his head.

"No. Not even going to attempt it. You wouldn't be able to do it either in this form."

" **I kind of figured since I can't feel my claws."** Laika looked at her feet. " **Or the earth beneath my feet for that matter. What's on my feet? Some kind of material?"**

"They're called shoes, Laika. They keep your feet from getting roughed up or infected."

" **I guess you humans have weak feet then because we Thulecitians don't need these shoe things. Our feet can handle rough terrain and we have tough skin."**

"Humans have delicate skin and our feet evolved from a different means to locomotion. It's not something we can help. Our feet can grip things but only by so much - and the shoes are for protection."

" **I see."** Laika hummed in thought, looking at the rest of herself. " **Well… I think I get the basic idea. You have to cover up more due to delicate skin and keeping warm."**

"Exactly."

Laika nodded.

" **Well, seems we're both walking now. Shall we head to my village?"**

Wilson nodded as they started to walk off, Laika leading the way.

"How does it feel being one of us?"

" **It feels kind of funny. My nails are really short and this fur on my head is fuzzy."**

"Hair can be like that."

" **Do you humans have it for warmth?"**

"Yes and it's also part of attraction. Oh, one more thing." Wilson handed Laika his torch. "You will need to keep this on you. If I had to guess I now have your night vision and you have my eye sight which means you can't see in the dark and I'd rather not let you experience a Grue attack."

Laika nodded, clenching the torch tightly along with her spear.

" **Things did seem darker after waking up like this."**

Wilson nodded, sympathy coming to his eyes.

"Indeed. I know that feeling all too well."

" **When she attacks… What's it like?"**

Wilson cringed, thinking about it, a hand coming to his chest, clenching at it a little.

"Terrifying. It feels like something is biting you but… it's shocking you. Draining you and you can't do anything about it."

" **That sounds awful."** Laika frowned, looking around. " **Why does she do that?"**

Wilson gave a shrug as he looked around as well.

"Because she's a predator who must hunt. Like a hound or a varg. She can't help it."

" **I see."** Laika kept the torch close, jumping a bit at the sight of small white eyes looking at her. " **S-Stay back."**

There was a hiss heard as movement went behind her.

"I see you."

Wilson growled. "Grue. Leave her be."

Laika held her spear out, her hand trembling.

" **I-I have a spear and a torch and I'm not afraid to use it! Be gone monster!"**

There was a breeze felt as the eyes faded away into the darkness.

"This is why you need to be careful."

" **Right."** Laika sighed. " **Let's be quick then and get back to my village. We have the place lit all the time."**

"Lead the way then, Master of the Caves."

" **Oh, he flatters now?"**

"What?" Wilson chuckled. "It's the truth."

Laika giggled, holding the torch up high.

" **Well, right this way then."**

They continued on, talking quietly in the darkness.

Then, they saw it. An entryway illuminated by several torches. They could hear numerous voices and Wilson could distinctly smell some kind of food being prepared.

"Is this…?"

" **Yes."**

Laika pushed ahead, leading Wilson to the end of the entry way. His eyes widened as he saw what looked like something more than what would be considered the standard village back on Earth.

" **My home."**


	6. The Hidden Village

"Are we sure we're heading in the right direction?" Winona asked, scanning the area. "Cause I feel like we're just wandering at this point. Plus we might've guessed wrong on where those screams came from."

"I know we are. I just feel it."

"Willow, you've been saying that for two hours." William sighed. "And can I please walk on my own?"

"I dunno. Should I put him down?"

"Hm… Let him walk. He won't run off on his own."

Winona nodded, setting William down.

"You got any ideas on how to find Wilson?"

William hummed in thought.

"Well… Hm… Em… Not… really. We don't know what direction he ran off so it's hard to make any kind of plan in regards to finding him. We have nothing to track him by."

"Hm.." Willow sighed. "You got a point."

"What about spent torches? Wilson doesn't keep carrying them once he can't ignite them anymore."

"Yes but let's remember he has the same torch we do. It's not going to burn out till he snuffs it out."

"True… Ugh… There's gotta be some way to find him."

Willow growled under her breath, muttering.

William sighed looking around before he felt a chill go through him.

"The Nightmare Cycle is going to be starting soon. We need to find shelter somewhere before monsters find us."

"We'll work on that then." Winona looked around the area before her eyes caught sight of something. "Hey guys, over here!"

Willow and William hurried over, curious about what Winona had seen. Their eyes grew wide at the sight of what looked like battle carnage. Scrapes across the floor, some blood and scratches made by some kind of weapon.

"Think this might've been Wilson?" Winona asked.

"I hope not!"

"But it might be."

Winona looked further, seeing tracks in the ground.

"Well, someone passed through here and seems they got into quite the fight too since they tracked some blood behind… though… these footprints. They don't seem normal. Look at all the tracks in the ground and their shape. I'm pretty sure we don't got feet like that or make that many prints when walking."

"We don't." William looked ahead, eyes narrowing a bit. "We might not be alone then."

Willow cracked her knuckles. "Let's see what we find then."

All nodded in agreement before heading down the path, hoping for the best.

oooooo

Wilson couldn't stop staring at the sight before him.

When Laika had said village he was expecting a small area of structures made of wood. A more so humble look like that of the pigs but that was far from what he was seeing.

Instead, before him was what looked like a small part of a city. Structures that were large in size, made of stone material infused with metal that was gold in color, pathways carved out and lined with stones to mark the way and gems on poles that provided light like that of a street lamp. The place was huge as a whole, taking up three different plateaus, all connected by bridges.

" **I know it's not much."** Laika said, rubbing the back of her neck. " **But it's home."**

"Not much? Laika, this is incredible!" He breathed. "Look at it all!"

" **You really think so?"**

"Laika this… this is beyond anything I could've imagined when you said village. I can't wait to see the rest of it. It's… advanced."

" **Halt!"**

Both froze up, holding their hands up as two Thuelicitans dressed in heavier armor approached them, their spears pointed at them.

" **Identify yourselves!"**

Laika swallowed hard before looking them both in the eyes directly.

" **Raku, Toka, it's me, Laika."**

The two gave her unsure looks.

" **Prove it, weird creature."**

" **Remember when we were thulings and Raku decided to use his spear as a new thing to swing on-"**

" **Did not! … Laika?"** Raku tilted his head. " **What happened to you? Why do you look so different?"**

" **And who is this?"** Toka asked, walking around Wilson. " **I've never seen him before in the village."**

" **It's a long story but his name is Wilson Percival Higgsbury. He's a human I met while out on my hunt."**

" **Hoo… mon…?"**

" **Human."**

" **Oh."**

Raku looked at Wilson curiously.

" **Quite the amount of names. Can we just call him Wilson for short?"**

" **I'm sure you can since that's what I do."**

" **Noted. So, what exactly happened to you two? He doesn't look different from us but you do."**

" **I'll explain but can we please come into the village area? The Nightmare Cycle is starting soon and I don't want to be outside the barrier."**

" **Of course. Right this way. Let's get you some food too while we're at it."** Toka looked to Raku. " **Raku, stand guard. I'll escort them."**

Raku nodded.

" **Understood."**

Wilson and Laika followed behind Toka, Wilson unable to help himself as he looked around at the village. He couldn't believe his eyes. He saw Thuelcitians going about their day, pulling carts around that didn't have wheels but instead floated due to some kind of magic. Others milled about, carrying food in baskets, hurrying to various structures, delivering food or just making conversation. He even took note how some of the lintels on the buildings had veins of some sort on them that glowed a goldish orange in color that linked to veins on the ground.

"Incredible."

Laika looked to Wilson.

" **Are villages not like this in your world, Wilson?"**

"No! Nothing like this. Much more primitive back home and there's no veins that have links directly to the ground."

" **Ah yes the magic veins."** Laika smiled, looking at the ones in the ground. " **They carry energy that powers the village so we have light in our structures without having to use torches. Less smoke and it's cleaner. It's a different kind of magic from the ancestors but it works just as well as the older technology."**

"That's amazing. It preserves the area as well as shape it."

" **That's right."**

"What kind of jobs do villagers have?"

" **Common jobs are hunters and scavengers like me, sewers, cooks, armorers and builders. The more higher up jobs are the guards, scientists, healers and our chief who also serves as the shaman."**

Wilson looked around, intrigued as he soaked the information in. This was all so new and intriguing to him.

"This is a whole new world. I'd love to research it more."

" **Well, maybe after this whole debacle is solved and you reunite with your friends you can stay awhile."**

"I shall keep that in mind."

Toka led them into a structure that had tables set up in it, Thulecitians at those tables glancing at them for a moment before focusing on the food in front of them. It seemed to be a diner of sorts if Wilson had to guess. Toka sat them down at a table, speaking quickly to another Thulecitian before turning his attention to them.

" **I shall go tell the chief of what has happened. I will come back for you when he is able to see you both. For now, rest and food should be here shortly."**

Toka bowed before hurrying off.

Laika sighed in relief, leaning her head back.

"You okay?"

" **These human legs get tired faster."**

Wilson chuckled.

"I can relate. Walking miles on end can be taxing."

" **Miles are nothing. I can handle that in my sleep with my regular legs."** Laika shook her head. " **Regardless of that, just feels good to be home."**

"I could imagine." Wilson looked around. "Sorry I… just can't help but look around. I never imagined something like this was right under our feet this whole time."

Laika giggled.

" **It's nothing that special."**

"It is to me." He chuckled, reaching across and tousling her hair.

Laika laughed.

" **H-Hey! That tickles!"**

Wilson grinned, as he continued to do it, laughing a bit.

" **WILSON!"**

After a moment he stopped, grinning widely.

"Got ya."

" **You're silly."**

The Thulecitian Toka had spoken to earlier walked up to them, setting down two trays of food before them. On the trays were well cooked meatballs with rice on the side that had some kind of herbs sprinkled on them.

" **Enjoy."** The Thulecitian bowed, looking at the two before leaving.

Wilson sighed in relief seeing the food as he started to dig in.

"Oh, this is wonderful."

Laika nodded, nibbling away, sighing in content.

" **Sweet sticky rice I've missed it so much."** She made a ball out of some of the rice, putting some bits of meat in it before popping it into her mouth. " **Perfect."**

Wilson watched her before doing the same trying it.

"Mm. That is quite good." He looked at her curiously. "So, Laika… How old would you say you are?"

" **I'm about eighteen years old. Just barely an adult Thulecitian."**

"Ah, so you're a teenager as we'd say."

" **Thuleteen is an adolescent Thulecitian."** Laika giggled. " **But I'm far beyond that now."**

Wilson chuckled. "I see. That's interesting."

Laika nodded.

" **Just how it is."** She popped another rice ball into her mouth. " **Ah… Just what I needed. It's really helping me calm down from this crazy stuff."**

"I'm glad Laika. This is honestly still baffling but it's so fascinating."

" **I'm still shocked you haven't freaked out."**

"Don't really have a reason to."

" **Hm… True I guess. I just thought this would all be shocking to you."**

"I'm still a scientist Laika. This is all just one big research paper to me. At least, that's how I view it."

" **Well, least you're handling it well. Just hope the chief can fix this."**

"I hope so too." He frowned. "I hope my friends are alright… I hope they don't see me like this."

" **Why would it be bad if they did see you like this?"**

"Humans… can become afraid of what they don't understand."

" **But you weren't scared of me when we met."**

"Because I've been here long enough and because I've looked the queen herself in the face. Nothing really gets to me anymore, Laika." He explained. "But my friends are different. I don't think they'd attack but they would be wary. Like how your friends were."

" **But you saw how my friends relaxed after they knew it was me. I'm sure your friends would be the same if they knew it was actually you. Isn't that what friends do?"**

Wilson lowered his gaze.

"I suppose so… To be fair, I've been with my companions for a while but I don't know them as well as I suppose you would someone you've known since you were young."

" **Wilson…"**

"I just… don't want to scare them."

Laika frowned, opening her mouth to say something but stopped as she saw Toka approach.

" **Toka?"**

" **The chief will see you both now. Are you ready?"**

Laika looked to Wilson.

" **Wilson?"**

Wilson smiled faintly, getting up.

"Let's get to it."

" **Very well."**

They headed out, following Toka to a large temple like structure. On the inside, it was ornately decorated with tapestries that depicted images that looked very similar to the ones Wilson had seen in the cave with his companions. In the back of the room at the center was a throne area and on that throne was a Thuelcitian that wore a rather regal looking headpiece and held an odd looking staff in their hand.

Toka moved off to the side, bowing in respect as Laika and Wilson approached the Thulecitian on the throne.

Laika stepped down on one leg, bowing in respect.

" **Chief Ignis."**

Ignis nodded to her, raising their staff.

" **You may rise, young hunter."**

Laika did as told, looking to Ignis with a pleading look.

" **My chief, I have been cursed along with my companion here by an enchanted treasure chest. We have swapped forms as you can clearly see and we were hoping that you would know a way to reverse what has happened to us."**

Ignis hummed in thought before looking to Wilson.

" **And he was what you are now, Laika?"**

" **Yes. He is what is known as a human. He is from the surface. He means us no harm."**

" **I see."** Ignis looked at Wilson carefully. " **It would explain why his essence is not like that of the normal Thulecitian. Fascinating."**

Wilson swallowed hard, looking at Ignis cautiously, keeping quiet.

" **Would there be anything you could do for us?"**

Ignis got up from his throne, moving closer to Wilson and Laika. He closed his eyes, holding his staff up a little, a magic aura emanating from it. Both held still, finding it best to say nothing till the magic aura faded.

" **This is not a curse I can do away with a simple spell but the good news is that it is not permanent."** Ignis smiled gently. " **It should lose its effect within three days and you both will return to your original forms."**

Laika sighed in relief.

" **Thanks the Ancients."**

Wilson sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness it's not permanent."

Ignis gave a warm look as he returned to his throne.

" **I will have the healers prepare a healing circle for when the day arrives so it won't be painful. Till then, you are welcome to stay among us, Wilson of the surface."**

He bowed his head.

"Thank you so much. I'll do my best to earn my keep."

" **Very good."** Ignis nodded. " **Laika, would you please show him to one of our sleeping quarters?"**

" **Of course, My Chief."**

Laika bowed her head before leading Wilson out. Soon as they were far enough away from the building she let out an excited squeal.

" **I'll get to be myself again in three days!"**

Wilson chuckled, ruffling her hair up.

"As will I."

Laika giggled, sighing happily.

" **Till then, you get to stay in my village. Oh I can show you so much and-... Oh wait, what about your friends?"**

"I'll find them. I just need rest first." Now that he was thinking about it, he didn't realize how sore he still felt and how exhausted he was. His new form felt heavy and strange even now.

" **Okay. We can search after you rest. We can get a search party together. I'm sure my fellow scavengers would be all more than happy to help find your friends."**

He gave her a small smile, exhaustion in his eyes.

"That'd be lovely, Laika."

Laika smiled before leading him to one of the smaller structures. Inside were rows of beds, complete with blankets and pillows.

" **Choose any one you like. These sleeping quarters are open to everyone."**

Wilson gave her a grateful look before going to one of the beds at the far end of the room, curling up as best as he could. It was nice to finally rest.

"Goodnight."

" **Goodnight."**

Laika smiled before heading off on her own, leaving Wilson by himself. Wilson sighed, closing his eyes, doing what he could to relax.

 _Please let the others be safe._


	7. Research

"Think we're getting closer?" Winona asked, looking at the foot prints they had been following. "'Cause I feel like we're going to get lost soon. These prints are starting to fade."

"We gotta keep moving." Willow narrowed her eyes. "We haven't seen any diverging paths so we gotta be heading in the right direction."

"That's the hope." William looked around, shaking a bit.

Winona looked to the man.

"You feeling okay, Beanpole?"

William shook his head.

"The cycle is starting."

" _We're doomed."_ Maxwell muttered. " _Should've just stayed in the cave."_

 _You're not helping, you know that?_

" _I'm just stating the facts, William."_

"What do we do then?" Willow asked, her eyes darting around. "From what you said, it doesn't sound like good news."

"I think the best we can do is to keep pushing on." Winona narrowed her eyes. "Staying still won't do us any good. We just better hope we don't get any unpleasant surprises."

" **HALT!"**

All three froze up, finding themselves surrounded by figures with their hoods up, their spears pointed at them. They were saying things at them in another language, but one thing was clear to them.

" **Don't move."**

oooooo

Wilson was comfortable where he was. The covers were warm and the bed he was in was probably the most comfortable thing he had slept on in awhile. For a moment, it felt like he was back at his private cabin in the mountains. While his bed might not had been the best thing, it was definitely more comfortable compared to what he usually had to sleep on in the time he had spent in this world. Everything seemed right for once… even if he knew the reality that awaited him.

He opened his eyes slowly, finding he was still in the sleeping quarters Laika had lead him to. He sat up slowly, cringing a bit from the soreness. He looked at his form, still shocked about it as a whole. The multiple legs, the bug like lower body, his new hand shapes. It was bizarre to say the least.

 _Come to think of it the only thing I haven't seen is my face. Wouldn't mind knowing about that._

He looked around the area, seeing if there was anything reflective. Sure enough, in the center of the room he could see a well of sorts that was filled with water. He made his way over, peering into the water, eyes widening a bit at what stared back at him.

His face was relatively the same but his pupils now had the inverse look that Laika's did when she was still in her regular form. His hair was gone and in its place were spines that formed a somewhat similar shape to his usual look. He even noted his teeth were now sharp as well.

He felt his spines before poking at one of his fangs, wincing at accidentally pricking his finger.

 _This isn't any dream, that's for sure. Least it isn't permanent._

He looked to the entryway of the place before deciding to poke his head out. His eyes still marveled at the sight of the village. He wanted to see more of it and make as many notes as he could.

 _Well… I am here as a guest so it should be fine for me to wander around and do some personal observation and research._

Wilson rubbed his hands together before stepping out, trying to take in as much as he could in more detail than when he had first arrived. He noted how the carts from before were floating. He saw that under them were gems placed on all four corners, a magic emanating from them that created circle like patterns that bounced off the ground.

 _Interesting._

He took note of all the Thulecitians he could see. He noted how each one varied in appearance from the amount of spines to how big some of them were but all were the same colors in skin and body. The biggest differences were their headbands and certain attire.

 _I need to remember to ask Laika about what certain headbands mean._

He stopped in his tracks as he heard someone squealing. He looked towards the source, seeing Laika playing with smaller Thulecitians, the young woman buried under them.

" **Oh no, I've been defeated!"** She looked to a Thulecitian who was sitting off to the side who had black paint marks on their face. " **Sanare! Save me!"**

Sanare chuckled, a grin coming to their face.

" **I don't know Laika. You did ignore that injury that one time."**

" **NO! Forgive me! Help!"**

Sanare rushed over, scooping some of the smaller Thulecitians up into their arms. " **RAAAAH!"**

The younger ones squealed, huddling up to the older Thulecitan.

" **Sanare!"** They squealed.

" **Mine! Mine! Mine!"**

Laika giggled, sitting up.

" **Little rascals."**

Wilson chuckled at the sight before making his way over.

"I see you're having fun."

She looked to him.

" **He awakes! And yes, I love playing with the little ones. Thulecitian or not."**

The little ones all looked to Wilson curiously.

" **Is that the hoomon, Laika?"**

" **Yes and it's human, little ones. He's the one I switched forms with. He doesn't usually look like this."**

" **So would he look like what you look like right now?"**

" **Em… Sort of?"** Laika looked at herself. " **He's got crazier dark fur on his head and he's more pale in skin color and he wears different clothes."**

" **Ohhh!"**

One of the younger ones scurried up to Wilson, looking at him curiously before climbing up his back.

" **He's big!"**

Others scurried over, another one climbing on to his back.

" **Really big! His spines are extra prickly too! So wild!"**

" **Yeah! Yeah!"**

The rest gathered around him.

" **So you're from the surface? What's it like?"**

" **Did you really stare a god in the face Mr. Wilson?"**

" **Are there any Thulecitians on the surface?"**

" **Are you a scientist for a king or queen?"**

"Steady, children, steady." Wilson laughed. "The surface is very interesting, it's a whole new world up there with sunlight and animals of all sorts. I did stare a god in the face but he's really nothing but a sack of hot air. There are no Thulecitians on the surface that I know of." He held his arms out as one little one tumbled off of his head and into his arms. "And I am a scientist for myself."

" **Ooooh… You're inde… inde… Independent!"**

" **What do humans like to eat?"**

" **Do you dress differently or do you dress like us?"**

" **Do you have a mate?"**

Laika snorted at the last question.

" **K-Kids!"**

Wilson blushed, feeling his face heat up. "I-I um…!"

" **Well?"**

" **Alright, easy now children, not everyone has a mate and not all are interested."** Laika picked up one of the little ones. " **And let's not embarrass the poor fellow over such matters."**

" **Do humans even have mates?"**

" **From what Wilson told me, yes."**

Sanare picked up one of the little ones as well, curiosity in her eyes but content to keep quiet on the subject matter. " **How frail are humans? Do you get ill easily? Or injured?"**

Wilson hummed in thought, his embarrassment from the previous question now completely gone.

"We're not made of glass per say but we do need to be careful. We can't take long falls very well and if faced with a beast we can easily be cut up and lose blood or in worse scenarios we may break bones. We do get sick as well but we have very well developed immune systems to fight off disease. We just need to mind what we eat, drink and infections from injuries."

" **They sure have soft skin."** Laika looked at herself. " **They're not as tough as we are. They have to wear things called shoes on their feet so they don't get cut up or infected. They don't walk around barefoot like we do."**

Sanare's eyes were wide as she took this information in, a giddy look coming to her face.

" **Oh that is so fascinating! What do you do about injury? Do you use magic or full out medications? Setting bones?"**

One of the children stuck their tongue out as Sanare gushed on. " **Here she goes."**

Wilson chuckled.

"We usually use medicine. We have something known as healing salve we use frequently for open wounds and if we have enough materials we make honey poultice which we also use on open wounds but tend to save for more dire injuries. The only instances I can say we use magic is life giving amulets."

Everyone's eyes widened at the last part.

" **As in stuff made with nightmare fuel?"** one of the younger ones asked.

Laika seemed to freeze up at this.

" **We have something like that doesn't require that… forsaken fuel… Do you use it in making yours?"**

Wilson bit his lip a bit, nodding as the children backed away from him.

"But I have safe methods of harvesting it. I promise!"

The children looked at each other before coming close to him again.

" **You don't seem to be infected with anything so we trust you, Mr. Wilson."**

" **Yeah, you would look way different if you were."**

" **Yeah, you'd have the stuff dripping from your eyes and your skin would be dark in color."**

" **And spines would be black tipped and dripping with the fuel."**

Laika shuddered.

" **Children, please."**

" **What? We all know that's what happens if someone abuses it."**

Laika gripped at her arms.

" **Don't remind me."** She got up. " **E-Excuse me."**

Laika hurried off to a different part of the village.

Sanare shook her head.

" **There she goes again."**

Wilson frowned in concern as he looked to Sanare. "Is everything alright with her?"

" **She'll be okay just nightmare fuel is a touchy subject for her. It somewhat is for all our people as a whole but we don't mind talking about it. It was something our ancestors once used to power the great city and to make many things. However, with it came drawbacks, from sickness to horrible mutations that turned many of our ancestors into monsters that still roam this world to this day that are said to give anyone or anything nightmares. We have since stopped using the fuel as a means of not repeating what the past suffered but… accidents still happen to those who are not careful."**

Wilson thought back to the images of the obelisk in the cave from before.

 _Those images… It must've been what Sanare here is explaining in regards to the fuel._

"I see. That's very unfortunate. I'll… I'll keep it in mind." He frowned, feeling guilty for bringing it up.

" **Hey, you didn't know so don't make that face."** Sanare brought a hand to his shoulder. " **Just know Laika isn't mad at you or resents the fact you use nightmare fuel. She just… has some bad experiences with it."**

"I understand and I won't bother her about it. I just don't like making anyone feel bad."

Sanare smiled gently.

" **I would suggest finding her then. She can't have gone far."**

Giving a salute, Wilson hurried off where he had seen her go off to, spotting her sitting by herself near a structure.

"Laika?"

Laika jumped a bit, looking towards him.

" **Oh, Wilson. You scared me there."**

Wilson gave her a look of concern, sitting beside her… having to adjust himself a few times before he was comfortable. "Sorry about earlier."

" **I-It's fine. You didn't know."** She lowered her head. " **I just… I just don't see much good that comes from the fuel. It brought the city to its downfall and…"** She gripped at her arms again. " **It just causes so much trouble for those who abuse it."** Tears stung her eyes. " **It makes monsters out things like us."**

Wilson frowned, bringing an arm around her, bringing her close.

"Shhh… It's okay Laika. It's okay."

Laika froze for a moment before huddling closer, sniffling a bit.

" **I just… I just don't want you meeting a similar fate. I… I don't want to lose you to that horrible substance. I don't want to lose anyone. I… I…"**

Wilson held her close, humming softly… churring as well, stroking her hair. Laika huddled closer, making a similar sound.

"Shh… You won't lose me. I promise Laika."

" **On your honor as a scientist?"**

Wilson smiled softly.

" **On my honor as a scientist."**

Laika relaxed, keeping close to him, Wilson stroking her back.

"There. Much better."

Laika nodded, closing her eyes for a moment before they snapped open at the sound of Thulecitians making a fuss over something.

" **You hear that?"**

"Yeah." Wilson titled his head. "Wonder what all the commotion is about."

Both got up, hurrying to the source of the sound, eyes widening as they saw the villagers gathered around three humans that were being held hostage by guards, two of those guards being Raku and Toka. As for the three humans… there was no questioning who they were in Wilson's eyes.

 _Willow! Winona! William!_


	8. Reunion

The three survivors were confused and somewhat terrified at what was surrounding them. Their eyes darted from one Thulecitian to the next, trying to understand just what in the world they had gotten themselves into.

Winona was trying to shake herself loose, as was Willow.

"Let go of me you creeps!" Winona growled. "I can take you all with my eyes shut!"

"What she said! I'll burn you all to the ground!" Willow snarled. "We were just looking for our friend! We've done nothing wrong!"

" **Silence!"** Toka snarled. " **Say what you want in your strange tongue but know we do not take kindly to threats."**

"Speak English!" Winona narrowed her eyes. "I can't understand one darn word out of your weird mouths"

"Winona, stop, please." William begged. "They're not messing around. They just said to be quiet."

"YOU BE QUIET BEANPOLE!"

Wilson hurried over, hesitating a bit but he didn't want them to get hurt or in more trouble than they already were in.

" **Toka! Raku! Excuse me!"**

The two guards looked up.

" **Do you know these people?"**

The three looked up at Wilson, all confused at the sight of him and clearly didn't recognize who he was.

"Do you know what that thing just said?" Winona asked William.

"He just said their names. He apparently wanted their attention. They just asked him if he knows us. Odd question but… something seems familiar about that one."

Wilson frowned at them before looking to the two. " **They're my friends. The ones that I've been separated from. Please, don't harm them."**

Raku and Toka looked to each before nodding. They looked to their fellow guards.

" **Let them go. They are friends of Wilson."**

The guards nodded, letting the trio go, backing off to give them space to stand.

William sighed in relief, dusting himself off… but couldn't help but stare at Wilson.

 _I… I think I heard that right but… is that really Wilson right there?_

Willow and Winona were still keeping their guard up as Wilson came up to them. He looked to William first.

" **Can you please tell them it's me? I'll explain later how this happened but I'd like to get you out of this crowd first."**

William nodded though came closer, looking at him carefully.

"So it is you… I… How…" William shook his head. "Right you said you would explain but… goodness I'm intrigued to know what happened."

"What are you babbling about with that bug guy, William?" Willow asked, raising an eyebrow. "And how in the heck do you know what they're saying but we don't?"

"Dark Knowledge and Maxwell for why I understand these creatures and he's not just some "bug guy", Willow." He looked back to Wilson. "It's Wilson."

Willow looked at William and back to Wilson, her eyes going wide.

"... Wildork!?"

Wilson looked at her, clearing his throat and made sure he was speaking English instead of Thuleicitan as he spoke to her.

"Y-Yes, Willow."

"Ya gotta be kidding me." Winona walked over, looking him over. "What in tarnation happened!?"

"It's a long story but let's get you out of this crowd first." Wilson looked to Laika. " **Laika, a little help?"**

Laika nodded, helping part the crowd as Wilson lead them into the resting quarters, sitting down on a bed in front of them, Laika soon joining them.

" **The others have been ordered to go about their business but Ignis will probably want to see us all soon on the matter of knowing what is happening. For now, we can just talk."**

Wilson nodded, looking to his friends, seeing they were all still staring at him though quickly stopped as soon as he laid eyes on him.

"Okay, spill." Winona crossed her arms. "Why the heck are you a bug thing?"

"A new friend of mine, someone who IS a Thulecitian - not a bug thing - fell and cracked open a cursed chest when we found trouble. It morphed her into a young human woman and I into a male Thulicitian."

"And is this permanent?" William asked.

"No, thank science it isn't." Wilson gave a reassuring look. "According to the chief and shaman of this village this curse should wear off in three days. We have two to go."

"That's good to hear though kind of sucks you're stuck like that." Winona tilted her head. "That has to be weird walking on legs like that."

"It is strange."

Laika remained silent, just observing. She could only guess what they were talking about.

"But regardless, I'll be back to myself soon and I'm sure my new friends would be more than happy to help us with that cave we found and help us get back to the surface."

"Except one problem Wildork - we can't communicate with them."

"But I can." Wilson pointed to himself. "I know their language and can understand them perfectly. I'll act as a translator for both ends."

Willow nodded looking to the others. "Sound good?"

"We'll have to make due."

William nodded, sighing in relief. _We can at least relax for a bit._

" _The sooner we can leave the better."_

William scowled a bit at hearing Maxwell's voice.

" _What? Got a bad record with these people too?"_

 _Shut it._

" _You seem rather touchy about these people. Something you want to tell me?"_

 _One more word and it's a migraine for a week. Understand?_

William went quiet, nodding to himself.

"Why don't you all rest a minute. The Chief will probably be here soon but least get a little rest in." Wilson said.

The three nodded, deciding to wander around the area, save Willow who stayed with Wilson, now standing right in front of him. Wilson frowned, seeing she was still staring at his form, baffled.

"I know… It's weird."

Willow shook her head. "No… Well, okay, that'd be a lie. A big fat lie. It looks weird but it's in the "you still look like you" than look like a stranger. I'm just wondering how I didn't notice right then and there."

"I don't exactly have my signature hair anymore or clothes or… anything. The only thing I have is my face and my eyes in some regard." He looked at the rest of himself. "The rest… I wouldn't be surprised if you saw me as just a stranger."

Willow took one of his hands into hers. "But you're still you in there. So it'll take a bit getting used to… I don't care. I'm just glad you're not dead."

Wilson looked at her surprised before his look softened, a small smile coming to his face.

"Sorry I scared you again, Willow. I really need to get better about it."

"That you do, Wildork." She moved closer, cupping on his cheeks in her hands. "That you do."

He leaned into her hand, churring a bit, though stopping quickly, blushing a bit.

"Ehehehe… Excuse me."

Willow smiled, leaning her forehead against his. "Do that again."

Wilson hesitated before doing so, churring lightly.

She relaxed her shoulders, closing her eyes listening. This was still Wilson. The Wilson she'd grown to care for.

"You can be cute for a scientist, y'know?"

Wilson chuckled, blushing a bit.

"I-I suppose." He brought Willow into his arms, hugging her close. "S-Sorry I… I just… I missed you."

She hugged him tightly, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I missed you too, Wildork."

Wilson rested his head against hers.

"I'm so glad you're safe."

Willow nuzzled him, relaxing in his arms. "I'm glad you're okay too."

"Oh, Willow."

He hesitated before kissing her head, stroking her hair. Willow sighed happily, kissing his cheek in return.

"You dork."

"Yes but I'm your dork."

Willow smiled, closing her eyes.

"Darn right."

Wilson smiled, keeping her close.

Laika smiled at the sight giggling.

" **Cute."** Laika looked to the others. William was keeping to himself, looking at structure details and Winona pacing about the room. Laika tilted her head. " **Hey, Wilson, I think something is bothering one of your friends."**

Wilson looked to over to Winona, seeing she had an irritated look on her face.

"Something wrong, Winona?" Wilson asked.

"Just a little frustrated here." Winona ran a hand through her hair, one of her eyes twitching a little. "I can barely understand any of the dialect here and just… gah... We got lead to some place by my sister and we still don't know WHY she wanted us there."

Laika blinked.

" **Um… Is she angry about something?"**

"English. PLEASE." Winona snarled at her.

Laika backed away a little.

" **Wilson, she's a scary human."**

Wilson gave Winona a frustrated look. "Winona, none of us want to be in this situation but please don't let it get to you."

Winona sighed, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Sorry. That was out of line. I think the whole insanity thing Beanpole kept yapping about kind of got to me."

William cringed.

"Yes, we were out traversing the caves during a nightmare cycle and well… you get the idea."

Laika tilted her head.

" **I have no idea what anyone just said. Did they say they were sorry or were they explaining why they were angry?"**

Wilson patted her head. " **Winona was just apologizing and explaining that she had an encounter with the nightmare cycle as well."**

"That too. Hard to get along with just one translator."

William looked to Laika.

"I sadly can't speak their language. I only understand what they say which is odd. I would think Maxwell would know how to speak the dialect."

"That is a good question."

" _Don't expect an answer anytime soon, Magician."_

William sighed.

"He's been acting strange since we found that cave and I don't know why so he's not letting me access certain things in regards to his knowledge."

"I noticed too…Wait… The cave." Wilson looked to Laika. " **Laika, I forgot to ask this and I really should have earlier but do you know anything about the cave I was in when we met?"**

Laika nodded.

" **Not a lot but I do know that it is the only place where you can access to the Ancient Gateway if you know the codes for the panels."**

William's eyes widened.

"Gateway?"

" **Laika… What do you know about this gateway?"** Wilson asked, placing both hands on her shoulders. _Could it be… Could we have a way home!?_

" **From what I remember from stories, the Ancient Gateway was capable of traveling to other worlds that were somehow connected to The Constant, including a world where the nightmare monsters came from. It hasn't been used since the fall of the great city but it could go anywhere. I don't know much else. The rest is something Ignis might know more about than me."**

"The Constant?" William blinked. "That's… the name of this world? I thought it was always known as the Shadow World."

 _Maxwell… is this true?_

The man felt anxiety bubbleup but it was not his own.

" _It's not known as that anymore. I ensured that much."_

 _But you know the name… Maxwell, what's the matter with you? This isn't like you._

" _No more questions PLEASE. I just want to get out of this place as soon as possible and far away from these Thulecitians. I don't want to be here!"_

 _Maxwell, I know this isn't a place you want to be but you have to help us. Please. We need to know-_

" _No, no, no, NO!"_

William cringed, holding his head.

Laika's eyes widened, hurrying over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

" **Are you alright, Sir?"**

William shook his head, while these feelings weren't his own, he was still feeling them head on. Anxiety, fear, panic.

 _Maxwell, you have to calm down._

" _ **I SAID NO MORE QUESTIONS!"**_

 _That wasn't a question!_

" _I… I can't. I can't! Just shut UP!"_

 _Maxwell…_

" **Sir…?"**

William looked to Laika, her eyes growing wide as she saw one of the eyes had a slitted pupil and was slightly black. She backed away instantly, getting in a battle ready stance.

" **Laika, stand down!"** Wilson said, hurrying over to William, getting between him and Laika. He turned to William, putting his hands on his shoulders. "William, what's the matter?"

William couldn't speak. He was frozen in terror. Wilson could feel the man's shoulders shaking.

 _Maxwell, pull it together, you're making a scene_

" _I CAN'T. I… I can't stay here. I can't… Please… Please, just leave Higgsbury here. Just let me leave!"_

" **What is going on here?"**

All turned their heads to the entryway to see Ignis was now present, a serious look on his face. Everyone turned to him fully, Laika immediately bowing in respect.

" **My Chief… I was just explaining something to them and… I don't know. Something seems to be wrong with one of their companions."**

Ignis raised and eyebrow as he eyed William, noting his state. He made his way over, Wilson moving out of the way as he let the Thulecitian look at the man carefully. William was completely stiff now, not daring to move.

Ignis raised his staff, the magic emanating from it again as he held it close to William. William's body relaxed and Maxwell's anxiety started to fade as well.

" **You're an interesting one."** Ignis said. " **Your vessel holds two beings. One that is of another world and one… that is of our beloved Constant."**

William let out a slow breath of relief as he felt the fear leave, lowering his gaze.

"Y-Yes, Sir... " He murmured.

Ignis placed a hand under the man's chin, having his eyes meet with his, allowing Ignis to see the one discolored eye.

" **It's familiar… but that's a matter to discuss at a another time. Right now, I want to understand what caused the panic. What were you discussing?"**

Wilson stepped forward.

"Well, we were discussing the reason we're here in the first place and why I ran into Laika. We were sent by someone known as Charlie to research an area she had found. It was a cave with markings and odd equipment. Laika told us it's an entryway to something known as the Ancient Gateway. Is this true?"

Ignis nodded.

" **Yes. It hasn't been used in centuries but it is still there like it was during the time of the great city."**

"Laika mentioned that. She said it had fallen."

" **Yes. Due to the abuse of nightmare fuel and the nightmare monsters that came from another world that threw ours out of balance. The king of old tried to stop them but his foolishness of thinking he had control got the better of him and cost him his freedom and his beloved queen and many of our people."** Ignis lowered his gaze, sighing. " **Our people don't have the proudest history in regards to our king. He was wise but he was also foolish in not heeding the warnings of his companion."**

Wilson thought back to the obelisk again.

"... I think I saw images of those two. They were on an obelisk in the cave."

" **Those are them."** Ignis nodded. " **That obelisk does recount their history of their use of the Ancient Gateway. Metheus as we call the tale, in honor of the queen's title as the one who bared the light to save her lover."**

Wilson frowned as he thought back to the image. "I see…"

"Hey, something else I'm wondering about. William said something about Maxwell when we were looking for you." Willow spoke up, thinking back. "That… these things we saw on walls might have created him?"

Ignis looked back to William, looking at him carefully, seeing fear in the discolored eye.

" **Hm… I don't know of any Maxwell from our history. The king was said to have created certain beings in attempt to restore balance… actually."** Ignis made his way for the entryway. " **This way, please."**

All gave a confused look till Wilson translated what had been said. The others followed without question, William keeping close to Wilson, the man shaking a bit.

Wilson frowned, holding one of his hands.

"I'm sure he's not going to harm you."

"Wilson… this isn't normal for him. Maxwell had a panic attack. I know what that feels like. He had a meltdown." The man closed his eyes tightly. "I don't want to go through that again. I felt totally powerless."

"It'll be okay. I promise." Wilson gave a gentle look. "We'll figure this out."

They soon arrived at Ignis' throne room. Ignis lifted his staff, pointing to the tapestries above his throne. All followed his gaze, seeing two beings sitting on the sides what looked like a Thulecitian on a throne that was weeping. One being consisted of various shades of light blue, holding small orbs that were of similar color in their hands. The other being, was shades of gray and black, holding fragmented pieces of a shadow flame.

" **The two beings portrayed by King Tenebrae's sides are the beings known as Magnus Lux and Magnus Umbra. Beings that were created to help restore the balance to The Constant."**

Wilson translated again, everyone eyes' going wide.

"There were two.." Wilson said, looking at each one closely. "Lux, means light.. Umbra is for darkness so… Oh goodness."

" _MAKE HIM SHUT UP!"_

William flinched hearing Maxwell's scream inside his head, biting his lip to keep from speaking up.

 _Is this true…?_

" _SHUT UP!"_

William's grip on Wilson's hand tightened.

Ignis frowned at this.

" **It is unknown what has become of those two beings. It is said they still exist and are still trying to restore balance to The Constant but as it stands, things are still coming apart at the seams."** Ignis shook his head. " **I don't know what intentions you have with the Ancient Gateway or in particular what your queen had in mind but I will warn this. If you want to attempt to use it, it will come with great danger. It is unknown what will be on the other side."**

Wilson frowned, hesitating a bit before translating for the others to understand.

"I'm sure we could handle it." Winona crossed her arms. "Whatever it is, I bet we could."

" _She has no idea what she speaks of."_

 _Maxwell… Please just answer a question or two._

" _I swear I am going to start screaming if you do not stop. I will make you DEAF."_

Even so, that threat sounded empty… and was out there as far as Maxwell's usual threats. There was a sad tone to his voice.

William felt it as well. Not the panicked anxiety from before… just sadness.

Ignis looked to all of them.

" **I see you show no fear of the unknown… Very well. I shall help you access the gateway but I believe we should wait till Wilson is no longer cursed."**

Wilson nodded.

"Agreed."

"What'd he say?" Winona asked.

"He said he will help us with using the Ancient Gateway but it will have to wait till I'm back to normal."

"Alright, then we got time to prepare." Willow grinned. "I can make some fire darts!"

Wilson chuckled. "Just don't go having target practice in the village."

"I won't."

Ignis chuckled.

" **Please, make yourselves at home."** Ignis looked to Laika. " **Laika?"**

Laika bowed.

" **I shall do my best to assist them."**

Ignis nodded.

" **I shall speak with our scientist in regards to the Ancient Gateway. For now, you are all free to go."**

Wilson nodded relaying this message to the others, them soon nodding and following him out along with Laika. William lingered for a moment, his eyes focused on the image of the being known as Magnus Lux.

Ignis took note of this.

" **William, was it?"**

William nodded.

" **I can't speak with you right now but would you please come by tomorrow? I would like to speak to you and your other half privately about something. No listening ears. Just you, me and Maxwell. Sound fair?"**

William looked at the tapestries before looking back to Ignis. "Yes, Sir. It sounds plenty fair."

Ignis nodded.

" **Very good. Now, go."**

William nodded before hurrying off to join the others, Ignis keeping his eyes locked on him till he was out of sight. He shook his head, heading off to tend to his own matters.

 _ **Such a familiar sight.**_


	9. Hidden Truths

It took a little adjusting for the others to feel comfortable around the village. They couldn't really speak for themselves and found sticking close to Wilson was probably best in regards to communication. Eventually, they got used to having Wilson act as interpreter and found themselves just as curious about the Thuelicitans as Wilson was.

"So they really built this place with just their hands and some specialized tools?" Winona asked, the group currently chatting over a meal.

Wilson looked to Laika, relaying the message to her.

Laika nodded.

" **Stories and records said we even just started with our bare hands before we moved onto using tools and magic."**

"According to Laika, that would be correct along with magic."

"Huh… So they use weird magic too. Is it like Maxwell's stuff?"

"Em… Not really. They don't like using nightmare fuel. They used to back in the day but stopped due to some unfortunate side effects it was causing to their people. Not to mention it was also just a reminder of what happened with their king and queen."

"Got ya… Well, I really look forward to seeing how this Ancient Gateway thingamabob works. If it's a way home then I'm all for understanding how it works and trying to repair it." Winona smirked. "It'll be a piece of cake."

Wilson chuckled.

"We'll see."

"Hey, speaking of Maxwell, where's William?" Willow asked between bites of her meal. "When I woke up this morning he wasn't in the sleeping quarters area."

"I… don't know actually." Wilson looked to Laika. " **Laika you wouldn't happen to know where William is would you?"**

" **He's with Ignis. I escorted him over this morning to him. He seemed nervous on his way out so I thought I'd accompany him to see if it could get him to calm down. Not sure what Ignis wanted with him but whatever it is I'm sure it's probably important."**

" **I see…"** Wilson looked to the others. "He's with the Chief. Not sure why but that's where he is right now."

Winona shrugged.

"Seemed the guy was interested in him from what I could tell from the faces he was making at Beanpole." Winona took a bite out of her meal. "I mean, he is strange to us, wouldn't be surprised if he was strange to these guys too."

Wilson shook his head.

"Tactless as ever."

oooooo

William was nervous when he had entered the temple where Ignis waited. He had nothing to be scared of yet he couldn't stop trembling as he made his way for the throne room.

He knew part of it was his own anxiety and the other… still to his shock, was Maxwell's.

 _Maxwell? I'll… just be straight and to the point. Why are you so terrified? I'm sure Ignis doesn't mean us harm nor do any of the other Thulecitians. We've see what they're like from this morning. They're very kind and don't mean any harm towards us or the others._

William waited silently, hearing a sigh from Maxwell.

" _They like you but if it was me they were talking to and they knew who I was they wouldn't be so friendly. This I guarantee."_

 _And why wouldn't they be? What did you do?_

Maxwell went quiet.

William looked to his shadow, seeing it mimicked what Maxwell was currently doing. That being, the man had his face his hands. He clearly wasn't in the mood to talk.

William shook his head. He'd get an answer later somehow. He made his way into the throne room. Ignis was waiting there patiently, a calm expression on his face.

" **Welcome, William."**

William bowed.

"Thank you. You wanted to speak with me and Maxwell?"

Ignis nodded, getting off his throne and walking over to William.

" **Yes, though I think it would be easier if I could see both of you at the same time."**

Ignis held up his staff, a gentle glow emanating from it before some magic aura came out that made its way around William. William stiffened as it wrapped around him but soon relaxed, feeling a warmth come over him. The aura moved around him before moving to his side, a shadow form of Maxwell appearing right beside him. The magic faded as soon as the form was visible.

Maxwell looked around, startled at being brought out.

" **Much better."** Ignis smiled. " **That way you two don't have to keep switching and we can avoid giving either of you migraines."**

"Um… T-Thank you." William looked to Maxwell, startled to see the man as well. "So, you wanted to talk to both us about something…?"

" **I did. I just have a few questions and then I'll let both of you go."**

Maxwell sighed, crossing his arms.

"Knew it was too good to be true." He murmured to himself. "Let's hear it."

 _I hope he'll be alright. That anxiety attack wasn't easy on either of us.._

Maxwell caught his gaze and shook his head.

 _I'll live._

Ignis looked to both before focusing on Maxwell.

" **So… if I am not mistaken, you are the one who was once known as Magnus Umbra. Is this correct, Maxwell?"**

Maxwell visibly flinched, his gaze lowering to the ground. He gave a small growl deep in his throat.

William was stunned to see such a reaction.

"A-Are you alright?"

"Don't. Call me. By. That. Name. It was once mine but it is no longer."

" **I see."** Ignis crossed his arms. " **From your reaction it is something you resent. I'm assuming because of King Tenebrae?"**

Maxwell looked up, his eyes narrowed.

"He created us-me as just a means of controlling his mistakes. He didn't create us because he wanted heirs. He… He wouldn't have even given the idea of us a second thought if he didn't need to fix something!"

Ignis remained unphased.

" **It's sad how King Tenebrae had a habit of going for quick solutions to solve his problems. Not realizing what the possible outcomes would be. In this case… leaving two beings to fend for themselves and to correct an issue he started for The Constant… making a mistake when one of them had too much of Metheus' essence."**

Maxwell's eyes had a look of pain in them as he remembered.

"Too gentle. Too kind. Innocent… so small when he was born. He just wanted to live. He didn't need such a heinous duty but he was still given it and we never thought to question it. We just lived and tried…" Maxwell's arms tightened around himself, hissing a bit. "And it cost us both."

Ignis frowned.

" **They attacked him, didn't They?"**

"Without hesitation and when his guard was down." Maxwell growled. "He did nothing to Them. He just kept people safe. Guided souls, made sure things were in balance in regards to light and darkness. That's what we were meant to be. The balancing act. But oh… They… THEY couldn't help Themselves! They don't want any light." Maxwell's form started to shift a little, his hair becoming flame like, something William had only ever seen Charlie have. Hands were shifting into claws and his ears were now pointed, eyes going white. "They just want to snuff it all out. Snuff every last bit of Metheus out because They hated her light. They couldn't get rid of me but they could get rid of the one They know she would've cherished with all her heart if she was still here if it weren't for that stupid… sorry excuse… of a king that I refuse to EVER refer to as my father let alone my creator who sealed her fate along with Lux's and mine!"

William stepped back as Maxwell's form was something entirely different. He appeared to be some kind humanoid creature with long claws, a tail and was dressed in a cloak and crown suited for that of a prince.

Ignins still remained unphased, staring Maxwell's enraged glare dead on.

" **It is saddening how things played out… and I am sorry for that, Maxwell."**

Maxwell snarled, an inhumane growl escaping his throat, his tail slashing at the floor, cracking like a whip.

"No you're not. No one ever is… I had to bear the burdens he created. I had to find a way to keep my brother alive. I had to keep what little of Metheus was left alive… and no one thanked me. No one tried to help me bear the burden. Everyone just turned on me!"

" **You turned on us."** Ignis narrowed his eyes. " **The boulders that sealed the caves long ago. Correct me if I am wrong in accusing you but I believe that was YOUR doing and I have to ask… why did you do it?"**

Maxwell's eyes grew wide before they narrowed.

"I was informed by HIM before he abandoned us that you all were extinct. That there was nothing left and to seal away the monsters underground. There was, as far as he knew. only the fuel infected ones left. The ones who would never revert back. I didn't question him because I was so new… I was essentially a child…" He looked away. "There were the shadow beings, the ones our power could prevent from turning… but I didn't know there were more. I really didn't. Even if I hate him I don't hate you."

Ignis' look softened.

" **I see…"** He sighed. " **Oh Tenebrae, we may respect him in some regards but he was as foolish as they came. Prone to having his hubris being his downfall and not realizing what he had done."**

William lowered his head.

"That I know all too well."

Maxwell's gaze moved to William, his eyes narrowing.

"Now you know what was bothering me. Heh… I stole it all from you not even realizing I was repeating my own downfall."

" **It's strange how history can repeat itself… however, the same outcome does not need to occur."** Ignis looked to both of them. " **I do not who she is but I am aware there is a new ruler who now sits on the Nightmare Throne. She's under Their influence and if something is not done she may meet a similar fate to that of Metheus."**

"Charlie…" William gripped at his arms. "She… She was my assistant. I… I'm the reason she wound up like this. I abused my magic and… I didn't stop when it was getting bad."

Ignis frowned.

" **So very much like our king… but as I said, the same outcome does not need to occur. I'm not sure what can be done since the ways of Them and the throne They created for Their puppets is not something I'm knowledgeable in but… maybe you'll find answers through whatever you can find on the other side of the Ancient Gateway. We'll help however we can as well since we have been studying light magic and other counters to the Nightmare Monsters but most of this rest on both your shoulders if you wish to save her from meeting the same fate as Metheus."**

"And I want to save her. She doesn't deserve this… She deserves so much better." William took a shaky breath. "It's my fault this happened. It should be me who fixes it."

" **Ah but it's not something you should do alone."** Ignis looked to Maxwell. " **From what I understand you two don't get along. You really should think about correcting that. From what I have seen of both you, you two are not that much different from each other."**

"It would appear so. We both had brothers. We both became consumed by our hubris… and we both regret it."

William looked to Maxwell surprised. He hadn't expected him to agree.

 _Working together though… that's a long shot._

" **Just something to think about."** Ignis nodded. " **I imagine together you two could perform some amazing feats."**

"I-I suppose… Though I have to ask…" William couldn't help but stare. "What… exactly is Maxwell? I've never seen him like this."

Maxwell gave a confused look before looking at himself, not realizing his form had shifted to what he was currently.

" **Can't really say."** Ignis said. " **I wouldn't call him a nightmare monster since he's nothing like those beasts and he's not a Thuelcitian. He may have been made by one and have the essence of one but he's not our species. If anything, he's just his own breed as was Magnus Lux. I guess for lack of a better term you could refer to him as an ethereal."**

"Ethereal." William whispered. "It makes sense."

"Given how long I've been able to live it makes sense."

" **We're in agreement then. That only leaves one more question then I will let you two go."**

"And that would be?"

" **I ask this on behalf of all my people… is it safe for us to venture to the surface once more?"**

Maxwell looked him over before nodding.

"It was never dangerous to. As I said, I was told you all had died. Not that you were too frail for the surface."

" **I see."** Ignis smiled. " **We thought the gods had banished us to the caves for what we had done. I am relieved at this news."**

Maxwell smiled a little.

"I'm glad I can reassure you. It really was just a huge misunderstanding… I truly apologize for what happened. I know I cannot change the past but please do allow me to fix the future."

Ignis rested his staff on Maxwell's shoulder.

" **You have my blessing."** Ignis moved over to William, doing the same motion. " **As do you, William Carter. May the gods light your path and show you the way to the answers you seek."**

William smiled, a relieved look coming to his eyes.

"Thank you. I promise I'll do well. I promise."

Ignis chuckled.

" **Good. I have no more questions. I got the answers I was looking for. I wish you both luck in your endeavours. You may return you friends now."**

"Thank you, Ignis.

William gave a bow before leaving, Maxwell doing the same. As the two made their way out, Maxwell shifted back to his regular appearance. William couldn't help but stare as it happened.

"Have… you always been able to do that?"

Maxwell smirked.

"Yes, though I've prefered to keep the appearance of whomever was my host at the time. I haven't required this form in ages."

"I see… Well um… So… are we… going to try working together like Ignis said to?"

"I'll think about it but don't get your hopes up, Magician."

William sighed.

"Yes sir… um… Should we go check on the others now?"

He nodded closing his eyes.

"You may stay out. I trust you to not screw up the message."

"Oh the amount of faith you have in me is astounding."

Maxwell looked at William stunned.

"Was that…?"

"Ehehe… Maybe?"

Maxwell stared before shrugging, phasing into William.

"Guess you can have a spine when you want to. Enjoy your time. I need some time to think. I'll be back soon."

"Noted."

William took a deep breath, looking to the village.

 _Well… I'll tell the others what they need to know. They don't need to know every last bit._

 _It's the least I can do for Maxwell._


	10. What Awaits Beyond

It was finally time. Wilson was excited but he was nervous too. He sat patiently in the circle that Sanare and the other healers had drawn up. It was a simple little thing with blue and yellow flowers he had never seen in the Shadow World before decorating the outside rim.

 _The Constant. It's known as The Constant. I need to remember that._

He focused back on the flowers again, noting the only one he could recognize was of the sunflower variety.

 _Hm… Come to think of it how would they even grow flowers like that down here with such little light?_

He glanced over to the circle beside his, seeing Laika waiting patiently like he was. She had a bit of a nervous look on her face, the young woman tugging a bit at the brooch that held her cloak together. Wilson frowned at this.

"Hey." he said, grabbing her attention. "Everything will be fine."

Laika nodded.

" **R-Right…"** Laika sighed. " **I'm just afraid it's going to hurt."**

Wilson held up a hand, reaching it out as far as he could.

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

Laika blinked a few times before smiling, holding up her hand as close as she could to Wilson's.

" **We'll get through this together."**

"That's right."

The flowers around them began to glow with magical aura. The sunflowers glowed a golden color while the blue ones glowed a teal green color. Wilson and Laika were lifted up into the air by the auras, both startled by the sudden action. They braced themselves, ready for pain… but unlike last time, instead of searing hot pain, it was a gentle warmth they felt as the changes took hold.

Sanare and the other healers kept around the circles, holding up staffs to keep the magical aura channeling properly.

Soon, the change was complete, Laika and Wilson were brought back to the ground, both landing on their feet.

Wilson looked at himself carefully, a grin coming to his face at what he saw.

 _Clothes… Human fingers… Two legs…_

He brought his hands up to his head, feeling his hair.

 _And hair… I'm me again… I'm me!_

He sighed in relief, looking over to Laika, seeing she was back to her normal self as well.

" **Oh thank the Ancients."** She looked over to Wilson, grinning. " **We're us again."**

Wilson nodded.

"We are."

"Wilson!"

Wilson didn't have a second to react as Willow came running up, throwing her arms around him, nearly knocking him over. He chuckled, bringing his arms around her.

"Well hi there."

Willow squealed, hugging him tighter, nuzzling him. Wilson fought down a blush as he returned the gesture.

"I'm so glad you're okay. I mean the bug body was cool but you're finally you again and I can ruffle your hair and not get my hands pricked by spines and-Oh c'mere." She yanked hard on his shirt, kissing him.

Wilson's eyes were wide as his face turned bright red. He soon relaxed, pulling back gently.

"W-Willow uh…"

" **You two are adorable."** Laika giggled. " **Perfect mates if you ask me."**

Wilson gave her a look.

" **Oh be quiet."**

" **No."**

Willow giggled, keeping close to him.

"Don't know what she said but I don't care. I'm too happy right now."

Wilson's look softened, bringing his arms around her, resting his head against hers.

"Willow…"

She sighed happily huddling closer. "You're all warm again"

"Just like a flame huh?"

"Yep." She grinned. "Just right."

Wilson chuckled closing his eyes.

"Cute." Winona said, crossing her arms, smiling. "Well, shall we get going?"

Wilson nodded.

"Yes."

Everyone nodded in agreement, heading out of the healing area. They gathered their materials, both what they had and what the Thuleicitans were happy to provide them with.

" **That should be enough food to hold you over to the staircase I've marked on your map."** Ignis said as the group slung on their backpacks. " **Thankfully it's not too far from here and not too far from the entryway of the Ancient Gateway."**

"Thank you very much for your help. Though… you sure you don't want me help with repairing the Ancient Gateway or helping with the panels?" Wilson asked.

Ignis chuckled.

" **You need to get back to your other friends. Leave the ancient technology to us."**

"How will you contact us?"

Laika raised her hand.

" **I can find your camp and help! I mean…. If we're allowed to leave the caves… right?"**

Maxwell looked over.

" **You are free to roam the outside world as you please, interact with the natives, whatever you fancy yourself to do. There is no more sealing the caves."**

Ignis nodded.

" **He is correct, Laika. Work has already begun in removing the boulders. Though actually… I was wondering. Would you be so kind to accompany Wilson and his friends to the surface and do a little scouting so you'll be able to find them when it's time?"**

Laika's eyes got wide.

" **You… You really want me to do that?"**

Ignis nodded, resting his staff on one of her shoulders.

" **It is a special mission I grant to you, Laika."**

Laika's eyes were wide, beaming with joy. She saluted, giving a serious look.

" **I won't let you down, Chief Ignis!"**

" **That's the spirit."** Ignis looked to Wilson and his friends. " **You are welcome to our village any time. Don't be strangers."**

"Of course. Thank you for your kindness. All of you."

Ignis nodded.

" **You're welcome. Now, get going. You've got work to do and so do we."**

Everyone nodded, waving goodbye as they headed out, Wilson taking the lead with Laika beside him. They were on their way, the group chatting a little bit here and there as they followed the path on the map.

"I do hope we'll find some way we can talk with them easier." Winona said, folding her arms behind her head. "Be nice to learn more about their tech."

"I'm sure we'll figure something out." Willow said. "I'm just glad they're friendly. It's a nice change from what we usually run into."

"Got that right."

Maxwell remained quiet, his eyes wandering around the area.

 _Do you think there will be answers beyond the Gateway?_ William asked. _If you know anything about it._

Maxwell sighed a bit.

" _There maybe, there maybe not. I do know that many things lie beyond it. Dangerous things that I hoped to never see again but… I am willing to take risks if it means we can find answers to everything that has been happening."_

 _Including… finding a way to help Charlie?_

" _We'll see… Though let's remember something. Charlie was the reason we came down here. Something tells me she knows more than she's letting on. There's certainly danger ahead and the best we can do is move forward with caution and prepare for whatever she and They have in mind."_

 _Right._

The staircase was soon in view, light from above greeting the group as they got closer. As they approached the first step, Laika backed away a little, a nervous look coming to her face.

"Laika?" Wilson looked to her, frowning. "What's the matter?"

" **I… I just… Habit, I guess. I've never been up the stairs before I… I guess I'm a little nervous about actually going up. You sure nothing will smite me as soon as I reach the top?"**

Wilson gave her a reassuring look, offering his hand to her.

"I promise nothing will happen. Your eyes might hurt a bit from the light but if you keep your hood up that should be minimalized."

Laiak nodded, putting up her hood before taking his hand.

" **Okay… Lead the way."**

Wilson smiled, leading her up the stairs, the others following suit. It took a few minutes before they reached the top. Laika squinted her eyes as the bright sunlight shined on all of them. She cringed, bringing her free hand up. After a few moments, her eyes adjusted, everything becoming clear. Her eyes went wide at the sight before her.

Open fields of grass with trees scattered about and a bright blue sky with the sun shining over gently with some clouds here and there. There was so much color compared to the caves, more sounds and… it was certainly warmer.

" **Wow…"** she breathed.

Wilson smiled gently.

"What do you think?"

" **It's… It's…. Wow."** She smiled, an excited look coming to her eyes. " **It's beautiful!"**

"And you're safe and sound."

Laika nodded, looking around, giggling a bit at the way the grass felt against her feet.

" **Oh Ancients… It's… It's better than I imagined… There's so much open space and… so much to see."**

"And we can show you as much as we can on the way to our camp." Wilson smiled.

Laika looked to him, her eyes full of wonder.

" **Really?"**

Wilson nodded.

"Really and you can meet our other comrades. I'm sure they'll love to meet you."

Laika grinned.

" **I can't wait to meet them then."**

Wilson smiled, taking her hand.

"Then come. There's a lot to see."

 **The End**


End file.
